Next Mazdaspeed 3 Might Get a Diesel

The world of hot hatches might receive a pretty mad member in the future, and not in a good way. It seems that the next generation of the Mazdaspeed 3 (known as the Mazda3 MPS in Europe) might get an oil-burner instead of the current turbocharged petrol powerplant, as Car and Driver reports.

Robert Davis, Senior Vice-President of product development for Mazda’s U.S. arm told the aforementioned source that the company is currently considering the idea of using a diesel engine for the future generation of the fastest Mazda3 on the market.

The executive came with a set of arguments in the favor of the oil-burning solution. First, he said that the car is aimed at a young public, who doesn’t dislike the idea of a diesel unit. He explained that this is because the young buyers are not old enough to remember the negative status received by diesels during the 70s and the 80s, when these were totally unrefined engines.

In addition to that, Davis promised that the move would not bring the vehicle in a lower league in terms of performance. He indicated that the car would have a power rating that would exceed 190 hp by a sufficient amount to make it competitive in the compact performance segment.

The fact that the Mazdaspeed 3 would receive a diesel engine wouldn’t be the first move on this kind on the international hot hatch market (the VW Group offers diesel versions for some of its hot hatches).

However, a decision has not been taken yet. Let’s hope that the diesel never makes it out of the management meetings alive.