Last year, Formula D driver Michael “Mad Mike” Whiddett unveiled plans for a 1,200 horsepower rotary-powered Mazda3 designed to tackle the legendary Pikes Peak hillclimb. One year later, this vision has not only become a reality, but it’s also more powerful than originally planned.
The Mazda is powered by a 4-rotor Wankel engine, which, when fitted with twin Garrett G40 turbos and a handful of other supporting modifications, outputs 1,400 hp (1,419 PS / 1,044 kW) through a six-speed sequential gearbox to the wheels. And while we’re on the topic of driven wheels, this car’s are not what you’d expect. Perhaps you’d think the Mazda3 would retain its original front-wheel drive, or perhaps even all-wheel drive, but in fact, this hellacious hatchback is actually rear-wheel drive.
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Sending that much power to the back wheels alone would normally result in little more than heaps of tire smoke, but luckily, being a Pikes Peak racer, this car has the aero to keep it glued to the tarmac. Attached to its widebody kit include such elements as a sizeable front splitter, a gargantuan chassis-mount wing, and quite possibly the largest rear diffuser we’ve ever seen on a car.
The kit was supposedly designed by Mazda themselves, and its styling is meant to retain the road car’s original form rather than distort it beyond recognition in the name of aggressiveness. Interestingly, it reminds us a bit of the Mazda3 TCR racer from 2019, which ultimately fell by the wayside with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, that car was FWD and had a quarter of this one’s power, but the looks are still there. Nevertheless, to check out Mad Mike’s mad Mazda3 in full detail, we recommend watching the video above.