Mazda arrived at the SEMA show with four modified vehicles to show, highlighting the performance and elegant styling of its latest vehicles. Two Mazda3 and two Mazda6 models received show-car treatment that explored opposite ends of the automotive spectrum.
Each car got Mazda’s “Club Sport” upgrade, to show off the performance muscle that’s inherent in all of Mazda’s products. The Club Sport 6 is powered by the 2.2 liter clean diesel engine that will be available in North America next spring. More than just an alt-fuel engine, Mazda’s Skyactiv diesel has seen some pretty successful track time, with nine straight wins in the Grand-AM Rolex GX Series. The roadgoing Club Sport 6 features Club Sport graphics and a body kit with a spoiler. Twenty-inch wheels emphasize the H&R-tightened suspension, and six-piston Brembo drilled brake rotors are visible behind the wheels.
The Club Sport 3 follows a similar theme. The compact five-door, which is all-new for 2014, features a more extravagant paint job to show off its new lines. The body kit will be offered as an accessory on the new Mazda3. Under the hood, a 2.5 liter four-cylinder borrowed from the Mazda CX-5 is hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission with a shortened final drive and a limited-slip differential. CUSCO coilovers and Brembo brakes combine with twenty-inch wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza tires to upgrade the suspension for the track. The Club Sport 3’s interior spiced up with eye-popping red leather.
Mazda’s more fashionable concepts are more subtle, naturally. The Vector 3 features deep red paint that shows off the Mazda3’s design without body modifications, and the suspension mods are more subtle.
The elegant Ceramic 6 explores the fashionable side of Mazda as well, with race-track inspired patterns on the exterior and a couture-inspired interior with intricately-stitched leather in high-contrast colors. As with the Vector 3, the suspension and performance modifications are kept to a minimum.
