When it comes to hot hatchbacks, Mazda is not exactly the brand that immediately comes to mind. But during the mid-2000s to the early 2010s, Mazda had one heck of an offering that punched above its weight and showed that the Japanese brand still has some zing to its name.

That vehicle was the MazdaSpeed3, and after being gone for over a decade, there are rumors going around that it could be making a comeback. According to a report by Japanese publication MotorFan, Mazda Spirit Racing, the brand's new motorsport and performance arm, is reportedly in the process of building an all-new MazdaSpeed3 based on the latest Mazda3.

Citing information gathered by the publication's informants, the all-new MazdaSpeed3 is expected to use the brand's 2.5L SkyActiv-G turbo inline-four. It's already seeing use in the Mazda3 and in other vehicles, such as the CX-30, CX-50, and CX-8. It can generate up to 258 PS with 430 Nm when using 95 octane gas, which makes it one of the most powerful four-cylinder engines from Mazda.

If Mazda Spirit Racing plans on giving the MazdaSpeed3 more power under the hood, it's likely possible they can extract 300 PS and nearly 500 Nm of torque if they decide to modify the 2.5L turbo engine. More importantly, this will put the rumored MazdaSpeed3 in GR Corolla territory, which already makes 300 PS and 400 Nm of torque. For a quick comparison, the last MazdaSpeed3 made use of a 2.3L turbocharged inline-four that produced 267 PS and 380 Nm of torque.

Beyond giving it more muscle under the hood, the rumored return of the MazdaSpeed3 is expected to get suspension upgrades, bigger brakes, and perhaps even a bespoke interior with special bucket seats. But what type of transmission will the new MazdaSpeed3 get?

There are no confirmations yet, but just like the GR Corolla, perhaps the all-new MazdaSpeed3 may come with either a 6-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission. As far as drivetrain is concerned, there's also the possibility of the next MazdaSpeed3 going AWD since the previous MazdaSpeed3 had a tendency to deliver torque steer, which made the hot hatch quite the handful. However, modern electronics and safety systems have gone through technological leaps, which may allow Mazda (or Mazda Spirit Racing) to give their next hot hatch torque vectoring.

Previous MazdaSpeed3

While no official confirmation has come from Mazda about a possible return of the MazdaSpeed3, the automaker does have plenty of technology and hardware to make a new one a reality. The only question now is, will Mazda go through with it, or will they instead go for something a bit tamer, like a more lightweight and better-handling Mazda3?

Source: MotorFan via Autoblog