it's obvious you've been watching too much WRC for your own good. NONE of these production cars - not the audi, mazda, sti OR evo - are "rally cars". they're street cars period. they have about as much in common with WRC cars as that short bus you ride to school.

 

Ohhh mean.....

 

As soon as a thread is moved out of general topics, it is dead... sheesh.

<strong bad>Oh crap, We've been TMOD-dedid </strong bad>

TMOD = Thread move of Death

 

Looks veryyyyyy nice

 

This car is sweet... i would love this thing for a daily driver, and keep the evo in the garage. this car is no Evo.. but it has its own place.

 

The Lancer Evolution and Impreza STI series ARE rally cars. They are not the same as the WRC Cars but they compete in Group N in very close to standard form. Also all the Evolutions up to and including the VI were used in the WRC in something similar to standard form, it was only when the Toyota made the Corolla rally car (or somewhere around there) that the World Rally Cars started to move away from the road cars.

Aston

 

274hp and 280lb ft. of torque!!! I doubt it. They said the same thing about the Mazda RX-8 and lied about real horsepower figures They have some making up to do and should be honest with their specs. People will find out sooner or later. To bad my friend bought his Rx-8 before he found they inflated the horsepower numbers. No he regrets not getting a evo But I do like the lines of the new 6. Would look sweet lowered with some volks

 

The RX-8s numbers weren't necessarily inflated. They made some last-minute exhaust changes to meet emissions requirements, and essentially shat themselves when the realized the resulting power difference.

 

The funny thing about all of the comments of those in the know is that I've seen with my own eyes Mazda's competitive test vehicles and Evo was one of them, but what do I know. I don't pass judgement on any vehicle until I've sat my butt in the drivers seat and given it a test drive, and I'm looking forward to this one.

 

I had heard Mazda had mistakenly posted the JDM version's power figures in a hasty move to promote the vehicle, and then because of the emissions changes needed the USDM car came up short. Also they offered something like extended warranty, free maintenance, cash or maybe even buying the whole car back if current owners were pissed off about it.

Neil, are you saying this car is a contender, and that the Evo was Mazda's target as far as performance? I would have thought they would have started with the "3" if the Evo was their performance bogey.

 

I guess the SRT4 is an "official" rally car then as well, and Mazda has plenty of rally history. The 323 GTX was good performer.



I sure hope they throw the MazdaSpeed6 Drivetrain in a 5 door Mazda3. I hope the 3 is going to be getting the Mazdaspeed treatment soon. That may help Mitsu bring an Evo Colt around..

 

I'm saying tha Mazda must have considered the Evo a contender, since it was be tested against the Mazdaspeed6 the day I witnessed it at the track. But unlike the bench racers that have posted, I'm not willing to pass judgement until I've tested one. Sure Mazda doesn't have any Rally heritgae with the 6, but it's best to go in with an open mind about these things and then see how it shakes out. Personally, I can't wait to drive one and if it is competitve against the Evo and STi it'll just mean more competition which will make Mitsubishi and Subaru raise the bar even further.

 

I don't know much about the SRT4 but the Lancer Evolution is a rally car because it has competed in and won the Group N championship for many years and a car with similar specification has won the WRC 4 times and the car has been developed through rallying and using that experience over many years. There is massive amount of effort put into developing each Evolution model, even the amount of spot welds and things they do to get the extra body strength. I don't know about the Mazda 6 or the SRT4 but I don't think they could match or beat the Lancer Evolution in anything except straight line speed and comfort, just because they lack the development and race testing. Of course I could be wrong but reading anything about the evolution of the Lancer Evolution series makes you realise just how much is tested and changed with each model, especially the small details that get that extra little bit of performance.

Aston