An interesting quote from this months SCC:

[Matt Harris]

In the article regarding the new turbocharged Mazdaspeed Protege:

"Because of the Mazda's massive grip, mild manners, and performance potential from its turbocharged engine, this car is our new benchmark for production car front-drive performance. THat's right, it has knocked the old Acura Integra Type R off the mountain.
Fact is, the MazdaSpeed Protege' is probably faster up our favorite mountain road than a Type R, which is the ultimate litmus test for useable speed. We know it's faster through the slalom. At 72 mph, it's the fastest production car we've tested."


And it looks good too. I need to drive one of these things. :D

[Adam]

Well... Regardless...
(I'm gonna beat Brock in saying it)
The reason why the Type R is so amazing is that it's a NA engine.
Probably one of the best production tunes NA engines ever made...

Now, I love forced induction as much as the next guy but, the Type R engine has my respect.

[A418t81]

Well... Regardless...
(I'm gonna beat Brock in saying it)
The reason why the Type R is so amazing is that it's a NA engine.
Probably one of the best production tunes NA engines ever made...

Now, I love forced induction as much as the next guy but, the Type R engine has my respect.


Sewing machines do nothing for me :wink: :devil:

[Matt Harris]

Well... Regardless...
(I'm gonna beat Brock in saying it)
The reason why the Type R is so amazing is that it's a NA engine.
Probably one of the best production tunes NA engines ever made...

Now, I love forced induction as much as the next guy but, the Type R engine has my respect.

I love NA engines, would love to have an NA track car. But a car with a small turbo is almost no different and most likely superior from a driveability standpoint. And this isn't purely a matter of engines, in fact that is a relatively small piece of the puzzle in this case. The handling is what makes it special.

[ActiveAero]

I don't trust anything SCC has to say. They've been paid before to give reviews. There is also a debate that Mazda might have given them a slightly "modified" one to play with. This debate sprung up after learning that the Mazda was running on shaved tires while the Type-R was not. Sounds a little fishy to me and that in itself is an advantage.

There is no doubt that this is a great little car and has a good chance of being extremely competitive with the Type-R. Until I see a true review with numbers from a more reputatble mag I'm going to hold my breath. If anyone remembers SCC talked alot of smack about the new Sentra SER Spec V lapping so many seconds faster than the Type-R. Lets just say it didn't quite live up to the hype.

[Matt Harris]

However, the Mazda MP3, which is the same platform and a very similar (probably slightly inferior) suspension was widely acclaimed (by a variety of magazines) as one of the best out of the box handling cars ever. Its slalom speeds were also outstanding. But SCC mentioned the shaved tires in the article, so who knows.

[ActiveAero]

Oh yeah I know its a bad ass car. Its going to be a real killer at Auto-X. If I had to bet money I would place mine on the MP3. However on a true roadcourse I think it will have its work cut out for it.


I'm not against a car being better than mine. My chasis has been around since 1994 and the engine from 1996 so its about time someone out did it. I'm all for automotive progression. All I'm saying is that I'm going to have to see some hard numbers before I decide.

<who doubts it will be as raw as the ITR.