It's official- shown at the Paris Auto Show last week. I'm not providing an opinion, just thought y'all would like to take a peek:

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/disp...er=mazdaSpeed6

Official product details here:
http://www.media.mazda.com/news_rele...4/0924a_e.html

More pics here:
http://www.plekkie.net/anton/ahura/mazda6mps.htm

Please note that the HP on the mazdausa site is higher than the euro model they showed in paris.. they're projecting around 274 hp.

Salient points:

Direct Injection 2.3L turbo with TMIC
Active Torque Split awd
LSD rear, open front diff
Six speed manual transmission

If I were to guess, I'd say it'll be around 30K, seeing as how the base Mazda 6 V6 is around 21K. Should be out this April or so..

 

Sweeet!!!!!!

 

2006 should be the last year of the current-gen Mazda 6, so this is a R32 type deal, send the old model off with a bang.

 

Now all they have to do is bring it to the WRC... THEN, we'll have a show

 

The car was introduced as an MY 03, wasn't it? Wouldn't ending it with a MY 06 be sort of a short lifecycle?

 

Introduced as a MY 02 actually. So it'd be a five year product cycle. Longer than the accord but still relatively short. I know for a fact that a new 6 is in the wings for 07, and it will be previewed by the new Ford midsize sedan that slots in below the five hundred, which is based on the next generation mazda 6. That car, the Ford Fusion, will be out next fall. Let's just say I have access to information that people in the general public don't have, though nothing I've said isn't available in publications like Autoweek.

 

4 years is the norm for mid-size family sedans.