Car Spotlight>>mazda Mx-6 Imsa Gtu

A couple weeks ago when I was at the Japanese Classic Car Show in Irvine, parked alongside the classic RX7's in Mazda's display I spotted this wild-looking MX-6. The normal MX-6 was a front wheel drive coupe that shared a platform with the Ford Probe, but the IMSA GTU race version was a just a bit different.

Essentially it's just an MX-6-styled body over a tube-frame chassis with a rotary engine and a Hewland transaxle. In 1989 when the MX-6 debuted, IMSA rules allowed full drivetrain swaps – resulting in crazy silhouette cars like this one.

A view inside the cockpit. where John Finger drove the car to two victories in the 1990 season. Yep, no resemblance to a normal MX-6….

I particularly liked the car's five-spoke Panasport wheels.

Ah yes, the flared body work and fat tires that make '80s and '90s IMSA cars look so cool…

And finally a period shot of the matching #38 on the track. Between 1989 and 1990 the MX-6's won eight races and captured two manufacturer's championships.

Oh how I wish I could have seen these cars in their heyday…

-Mike Garrett

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1

Wow...so wild...any video out there? I wanna hear that engine! :headstoyoutube:

2

Im not really a fan when they change the drivetrain layout for motorsports, like that drifting scion tc... the car manufactures dont have faith in their own FWD setups for racing, thats the true testament that FWD sucks

3

Just an awesome post Mike! http://jake.dingblog.com/

4

if FWD sucks lets see you climb a mountin with a front wheel drive

5

nowTHAT would be a wicked track toy! it must a pure animal on track with the tube frame setup and mid-engine setup, wow. cool feature & great pix, too bad the street versions werent rwd like a 2+2 miata setup, they'd be much more sought after now if they were rwd.

6

well, vw does has faith in theire ff golf gti's and scirocco's. they actually use them quite sucesfull in the german vln series. (*faster then all the other 2l turbo cars*)

7

I understand what you feel Mke... There isn't even a circuit where I live...

8

Clearly Tek has never seen any Touring Car Racing, World Challenge Racing, Koni Challenge Racing, and a few other ones that I can't remember, if he uses that justification for why FWD "sucks"...

10

For tons of original video from the '80s and '90s IMSA races and cars see http://www.grandtouringprototype.com/

11

@ TEK.. YOU CANT COMPETE IN DRIFTING EVENTS WITH A CAR THAT IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN FWD, IF IT CAME AWD AND IT WAS CONVERTED I.E. EVOS AND STI'S, ITS COOL , BUT IF IT WAS ONLY AVAILABLE IN FWD YOU CAN NOT USE IT IN DRIFT EVENTS,, KEN GUSHI FOUND A LOOPHOLE... IN ASIA YOU CAN GET A SCION TC FROM THE FACTORY AWD SO THATS WHAT HE DID THEN CONVERTED IT TO RWD , ...............SO ITS NOT MANUFACTURERS CHANGING THERE SETUPS, ITS TOYOTA NOT GIVING THE US AN AWD SCION TC, DO YOUR HOMEWORK



@VLADYST PIKES PEEK THATS ALL IM SAYIN RWD ALL DAY

12

FWD = POO in your nose



sign: FWD owner who is saving for a RWD or 4WD

13

@matsnorway; correct you only drive FWD if your saving up for a rwd like me. Keep up with the imsa gtu and gts coverage please i love when you post these cars. And to the rest of you all should now thae maximum horsepower for a fwd car is 250bhp without serious mods or if its going into drag racing. Because the front wheels are turning and driving at the same time,which is probably why mazda did a drivetrain swap and fwd sucks(even though i enjoy driving my civic, but not as much as a camaro)

14

@AE71- 4AGZE: Maybe YOU should do your homework. The Scion TC is based on same platform as the Toyota Avensis, which is available in AWD.

15

lot of internet badass goin on here

16

lot of internet badass goin on here

17

Nice and cool post! Excellent that they put in the rotary engine and RWD. Must be a beast!



If FWD cars are so good in performance, why are F1 cars all RWD? Is there a FWD on the planet that can lap Suzuka circuit faster than a F1 car?

18

thats a sweet retro ride, those IMSA racers look so badass, wide, low and purposeful. personally i like the old Audi IMSA race car. i dont know whats with all this trash talk about FWD cars, they're cool, havent you seen Tiff drift FWD cars on Fifth Gear, but then again he is a master behind the wheel, FWD is good for the track, just dial in that negative camber. AWD is awesome, nuff said.

19

Excellent wide body kit Mx-6! That's a rare find! Those deep dish rims are so cool! And that blue interior is really awesome too!



Woah, so much talk about drivetrains and all. AWD are awesome as demonstrated in the rally championships. FWD are great for daily drivers as they save petrol due to less powertrain loss.



But... For the ultimate track machine, it has to be a Mid Engine RWD. I honestly can't see a FWD outlap a modern F1 car around any of the F1 circuits.



Just curious. Any car in Leman running a FWD drivetrain? Hmmmm.

20

@ LEVI i didnt say what platform it is based on i said the ONLY reason that thing can be involved in drifting is because its available in awd and can be converted if it wasnt he would not be allowed to drift in d1 and formula d events...i was arguing the point that they didnt just take a fwd car gut it and throw in a rwd setup .....if you need an example take the nascar camry that car was NEVER available in rwd so that would be a car manufacturer changing the platform JUST to compete in a moptorsport, thats what i was commenting on maybe you should read the comment i was refurring to before adding your two cents .............in other words YOU should do YOUR homework.....your comment has nothing to do with what i was saying & you make crappy jeans lol

21

That's obviously the older gen MX-6; Mike, did they race the newer "rounded" MX-6s? My sister's old BF had one- honestly was craptastic, every week a new problem, jeessh!

22

@bobberz: I'm pretty sure only the older, boxier, body style Mazda was used in IMSA. Interestingly, Team Highball campaigned a silhouette SA RX-7 originally, followed by an FC3S silhouette before wielding the MX-6 seen here. At least I think this is a Team Highball Mazda; a number of RX-7s were raced (don't know about MX-6s) in GTU, many sporting similarly hued liveries.



@GOMASUDA (among others): I'm not sure the capability of an F1 car 'round Suzuka is necessarily the most appropriate benchmark for FWD performance. In addition to the use of an admittedly favorable drivetrain configuration, F1 cars benefit from as much as 10,000lbs of downforce (at max, or near max speed) among many other technological marvels. The resultant aerodynamic grip specifically allows an F1 car to traverse 130R flatout, and more generally allows significantly increased cornering speeds, independent (to an extent) of driven wheel choice.



That Koni Challenge competitors have CHOSEN FWD platforms, and BEATEN RWDs in them, says a lot. This year, the ABT Golf won Koni, closely followed by an Integra, another Golf, and a Mini Cooper, as well as Mustangs, BMWs, and Porsches. That said, RWD platforms are preferable in applications demanding higher power output. As was stated in an above post, to output more than 250-300hp TO THE GROUND through the front wheels alone is nearly, if not impossible. When power output is not a limiting factor, FWD platforms do fine.



Finally, as has already been noted, the MR platform offers what is often the highest performance powertrain. Shouldn't 911s, Vettes, M3s, Vipers, etc. then pack it in?

23

Videos are on You Tube...

24

Videos are on You Tube...

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