5k: 1988 Mazda 323 GTX
The Mazda Familia was a compact car built by Mazda from 1964-2003 – a small workhorse sedan/cabriolet/coupe/hatchback/wagon/ute and by its 5th generation was badged the Mazda 323 in the USA. This 1988 Mazda 323 is one of the rare GTX editions – and is for sale with a complete extra “parts car”.
The GTX is a small package with surprising performance — sort of a 6 year old Anakin Skywalker. Like Ani, the Mazda is smaller than its competition – but it packs a punchy turbocharged engine, manual transmission and all-wheel-drive. Its one of those cars that with the right upgraded parts and light saber training will be a great daily turismo and bring balance to the force.
The 323 is powered by a turbocharged and intercooled B6T 1.6 liter engine putting out 132 horsepower and 136 ft-lbs of torque. The engine isn’t a stomping behemoth like the Millennium Falcon’s hyperdrive – but its enough to make the 2100 lb pod-racer feel quick with its manual trans and 4 tire chirping all-wheel-drive.
The view inside the 323 looks straight out of a pod racer – complete with gauges to transfer power from the left to right engines…or they may be a tach/speedo. We can’t get enough of these gauges and would ignore the faded curtain material upholstering the seats and cheap plastic switches during the day to get a chance to zoom through the galaxy at night. Just be sure to give this car a good cleaning after you buy it to get all the midichlorians off the seat. Otherwise you’ll need to get some kind of antichloriotic prescription from your local pharmacist unless you can deal with all the itching and scratching – those little symbiotic bugs are nasty.
The 323GTX is a rare car – something on the order of 1200 were sold in the USA – you’ll see one about as often as Lucas slaughters your childhood memories with Episodes 1-3. We like them because of the turbo/5spd/AWD combo and low pricepoint. These cars offer a great alternative to the VR4 Gallant for the cheapskate Jedi on a budget. Even if you lived on planet Dagobah with a fixed income, you could afford the GTX. Would you pull it from the swamp with your telekinesis or leave it for the womp-rats?
See another speeder for sale on the cheap? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
~ these are Mazdas i've completely overlooked. the article linked in owners craigslist ad tells a compelling story of an unusual little pod racer.
automobilemag.com/features/collectible_classic/0707_1988_mazda_323gtx/
Consider the competition the 323 GTX had when it was first offered in the US. A turbocharged, AWD hot hatch, with real rally cred. Basically, it really had no competition!
That electronic dash proved both entertaining and problematic for owners, and the 80's Japanese economy car interior wasn't great, but the GTX was an amazing drive during an upstate NY winter (yes, I'm probably showing my age here, but I test drove one when they first came out).
Unfortunately, it was consider very expensive at the time (nearly double the price of the basic 323 2-door hatch). That limited buyer interest at a time when AWD cars were still very uncommon, and most people didn't see the point of a turbocharged, AWD hot hatch.
~ i'm curious how the Mazda performs against a contemporary Audi Quattro. there isn't much else with which to compare.
Agreed. Audi didn't really have anything directly comparable though. The coupe quattro wasn't available here with the turbo-5. Only the Audi ur-quattro (NLA in the US by '86, I think) would have taken out the GTX, but it's not apples-to-apples, since the ur-quattro was cost more than double the price of the GTX.
~ if these (323GTX) were twice the price of base 323 what was delta $ up to GT Audi Q ?
this was a bargain then, even better now? i'd like to own one, and eventually, finding this much car will become damn near impossible.
A base 323 2-door hatch started a little over $6K, and the GTX started at $13K. Neither price included options. The ur-quattro was over $30K.
At the time, if you saw the value of having AWD on your hot hatch, the GTX was the only semi-reasonably priced alternative. Alternatively, you could get a new GTI starting around $10K.
It's cool to see an artical about my car I posted for sale. I thought those pictures looked familiar!