Mazda3 Turbo officially confirmed

It’s taken its sweet time, but Mazda is finally getting back on the hot hatch bandwagon.

Designed to take on the popular Volkswagen Golf GTI, the new turbo-petrol Mazda3 will bang out around 186kW and rekindle memories of the berserk Mazda3 MPS that emerged in the late 2000s.

Mazda USA confirmed the arrival of the sizzling Mazda3 in an official YouTube teaser video, which lists July 8, 2020, as the reveal date.

Mazda has responded to numerous tweets asking for a turbo Mazda3 with “Power comes to those who wait”.

Leveraging the brand's Mazda3 TCR race car (pictured), the new Mazda3 turbo looks set to target the US market to begin with and it’s not clear if the new model will be offered in Australia.

“Its something that Mazda Australia has expressed interest in, but we don’t have any news to share,” a spokesperson told carsales this morning.

However, the Japanese brand hasn't ruled it out the Mazda3 Turbo for Australia and, given the popularity of hot hatches Down Under, a more powerful Mazda3 should be a fait accompli for out market.

With enough power and torque to take the fight to iconic hot four-cylinder machines likes the the Subaru WRX and Volkswagen Golf GTI – and the upcoming Toyota Corolla GR hot hatch – the new Mazda3 would give the brand a much-needed hero model.

Although Mazda is keeping details secret for now, the new turbocharged Mazda3 small car is all but guaranteed to be powered by the Japanese brand’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo engine.

That engine normally powers much bigger, heavier Mazda SUVs like the seven-seat CX-9, so when it is shoe-horned into the Mazda3 – potentially with all-wheel drive – it should blast to 100km/h in less than six seconds.

The 2.5-litre turbo-petrol engine is tipped to bang out 186kW of power and 420Nm of torque – which would be enough mumbo to give the front-drive Ford Focus ST (206kW/420Nm) a blood nose.

The new flagship Mazda3 was first flagged after details from an internal US Mazda dealer database were leaked, confirming a ‘PP’ which could stand for performance pack.

Those details suggest only an automatic version will be offered, so its 400Nm-plus torque output will likely pump through Mazda's conventional six-speed automatic transmission – although we hope a six-speed manual is offered here too.

It’s not known what badging the born-again Mazda3 hot hatch will wear, but options include MPS, Mazdaspeed or simply Turbo.

Separately, Mazda Australia is planning to deploy its SKYACTIV-X engine tech in the Mazda3 soon, bringing mild-hybrid functionality to lower the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of its popular small car.