Mazda Prototypes at the Rolex 24

We are just over a week away from the Rolex 24 and the start of the endurance racing season. The legendary American 24 hour race at Daytona will see Mazda with a new engine powering their prototypes. Both of the Japanese auto maker’s prototype entries will use the new MZ-2.0T power plant and they are hoping that it will lead to a class victory.

Mazda has had a good amount of success at the Rolex 24 with 23 class victories since 1975. This year also marks 25 years since Mazda took an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They are still the only Asian based manufacture to have pulled off an overall victory in French classic.

The MZ-2.0T that will power the prototypes makes 570 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four cylinder engine. You probably already figured out that the MZ in the name stands for Mazda, the 2.0 stands for the engine displacement and the T is there because it uses a turbocharger. After extensive testing drivers have come away very impressed.

They have stated that the direct-injected engine may only use on turbocharger, but they didn’t notice any turbo lag. Even with that big power output, the motor is able to sip on fuel, thanks to its smaller displacement. This can be a huge help in endurance racing when taking one additional pit stop could be the difference between winning and loosing.

It is a promising looking engine and we’ll be watching how it performs at Daytona on January 30th and 31st. But until then we like to dream about what a street legal version would be like put into a Mazda MX-5 Miata. Even with a detuned 350 horsepower output, it would be a monster on the road.

So, Mazda, get any issues that the MZ-2.0T may have ironed out on the track. After you do that put it in the MX-5 and there will be much rejoicing (it may even lead to world peace).