Bizarre Car of the Week: 1988 Mazda 323 GTX - New York Daily News
Mazda once tried their hand at the sport, and the culmination of their rallying efforts is the subject of this week's Bizarre Car of the Week. Meet the 1988 Mazda 323 GTX, a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive compact hatchback from Japan's most smile-inducing automotive brand. The unrestricted (but incredibly dangerous) "Group B" era spawned some of the fastest and most extreme rally cars the world has ever seen, including the famous Audi Sport Quattro. "Group A" rally racing followed, when too many deaths forced Group B to be canceled in 1987. Group A featured more strict safety regulations, including the introduction of stronger homologation rules, meaning that automakers had to sell a certain... Mazda saw this as a great opportunity for success, and took their strong-selling Familia hatchback to the dirt backroads of the world. The 323 GTX was a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive, rally-car-for-the-road long before the WRX was a twinkle in Subaru's eye. Mazda only brought 1,243 GTXs stateside between 1988 and 1989, and the GTX never finished first in overall points, climbing as high as third in 1989. Mazda Rally Team closed its doors shortly after that, but they left us with one of the most fun... Source: www.nydailynews.com
