The 5 Fastest Mazda Cars of All Time

Khodrocar - the brand’s most famous product, serves as a perfect example of what lightweight construction and just enough power can do for a sports car. True, you don’t hunt out a Mazda when you want brute force. There are countless Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, and Dodge Chargers from the last 50 years to help you out on that front. Instead, you go to Mazda to get the most zoom for every horse the engine can produce. This way, you can still get your speed fix even if you aren’t blowing the doors off a Shelby at the stoplight.

To prove it, we rounded up 15 of the fastest Mazda cars the automaker has ever produced. Several models were not released in the United States and were instead found overseas, but if they existed and had performance records, then we included them. We avoided concept cars, however. In determining the brand’s fastest cars, we looked at top speed and quarter mile times, as well as their all-important acceleration powers.

5. Mazdaspeed 6

The Mazdaspeed 6 was a performance version of the midsize sedan that launched in 2005. At the time, Mazda estimated it could hit 60 miles per hour in 6.2 seconds, and most tests made that claim look conservative. (Car and Driver got there in 5.4 seconds in 2007.) This model peaked at 274 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, giving it the goods to outrun every Mazda car in production as of 2017. Testers actually got close to 150 miles per hour in this one.

In Mazda’s recent history, the speedy 3 hatchback is probably the brand’s fastest car. It peaked at 148 miles per hour in Car and Driver tests, and ran to 60 in 5.8 seconds with Motor Trend drivers behind the wheel. Rumors of a new Mazdaspeed 3 have been in the air for years, but for now Mazda is letting this legend continue. We can’t say when — or if — there will be another for consumers in the near future. Used models would be your best bet. The last edition ran in the 2013 model year.

If you want to talk about Mazda performance cars, you have to include the rotary-engine RX-7 in the conversation. Between its 1978 launch and its final U.S. model in 1995, the RX-7 was the car that kept critics and enthusiasts alike in thrall. Capable of reaching 60 miles per hour in just 5.3 seconds, it had the quickness drivers crave. The RX-7 had a variety of trims and variations that hit the market, but the final version (launched in 1991) still holds true as one of Mazda’s fastest to this day. It could reach a top speed of 155 miles per hour.

2. Mazda RX-7 Type-R

One of the many RX-7 variations, the Type-R could slightly outperform the base model and jet from a stop to 60 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds. Like the standard version, it could also hit a top speed of 155 miles per hour. Horsepower was tuned up a bit to 280 with 232 pounds-feet of torque. Type-R had rivals in siblings Type-RS and Type-RZ, but performance data on those editions remains scarce. Type-R’s hold on second place would likely withstand challenges from those models anyhow.

1. Mazda RX-7 Spirit R

As with the RX-8 special edition that arrived later, Mazda RX-7 Spirit R was the final, peak model for this performance legend. Since it never made it to America, rare isn’t even an adequate term to describe it. RX-7 Spirit R was an impractical car — calling it a gas-guzzler would be kind — and it had more power than it claimed (emissions controls). Regardless, everyone who ever got behind the wheel reported pure bliss and acceleration times better than in any other Mazda. The RX-7 Spirit could hit 60 miles per hour in five seconds, and it topped 150 miles per hour.