In 1988, the Mazda 323 GTX burst onto America’s shores. It was a short-lived but epic hot hatch that felt at home on both dirt and tarmac. While it may not carry this reputation today, it was introduced as an aggressive, road-going rally car. It could easily claim to be the predecessor of today’s STI and Evo.
The 323 GTX was actually conceived for the sole purpose of competitive rallying. FIA rules stated that Mazda could only compete in Group A rally if the company produced at least 5000 copies of the street-legal homologation model.
To fulfill that mandate, Mazda proceeded to stuff their 323 economy car with all-wheel-drive, turbocharged goodness. The result was a quick, well-sorted sports hatch that appealed to a slightly younger crowd. The understated hatchback was not as flamboyant as today’s rally-bred monsters, but it packed enough punch to excite most anybody. It came with a turbocharged version of the bulletproof twin-cam 1.6 later found in Miatas, which produced 132 horsepower. That figure was satisfactory for a sports car of the day, but simple bolt-on modifications could bring it closer to 200.
The power wasn’t lacking, but it also wasn’t exactly the car’s calling card. It boasted a full-time four-wheel-drive system, which split power equally between the front and rear. This, along with a strengthened chassis, created a car that could handle exceptionally well–both on and off the pavement.
Unfortunately, the 323 GTX lasted just two years in the U.S due to low sales. Only 1243 cars found homes during the model’s brief stint in the States, mainly because of the hefty $12,749 price tag; sticker price for a Rabbit GTI of the day was $4000 less. This certainly didn’t help considering Mazda was aiming the car at a younger demographic.
Today, the 323 GTX is not extremely easy to come by, but it is affordable. Figure $6000 can buy you a nice one. Sure, the 323 GTX could have benefited from a better gearbox, a longer tenure in the U.S., and maybe a slightly lower price, but the first guy through the wall always gets bloody. This motorsports milestone was one of the era’s coolest cars and laid the groundwork for Japan’s rally-based production cars of today.
