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Press: Callaway Cars 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege Turbo

Rob

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Callaway does rice now!? -Rob

From TheCarConnection.com:

"Callaway Cars says it’s begun building the Mazdaspeed version of the Protégé compact. The hotted-up four-door will sport a 170-hp version of the current car’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine when it arrives for the 2003 model year. Callaway is developing and will produce the 2000 copies for the U.S. and Canadian markets out of its Old Lyme, Conn., headquarters. The Mazdaspeed Protégé goes on sale this October."
 
MAZDA

Yes he is doing the mazda . I was there and seen the prototype. It is only being offered in 2 colors. They had tests of up to two hundred horsepower when I met the engineers .
 
Thats a gigantic step down from doing twin turbo Corvettes IMHO. Why won't Callaway TT the current C5????
 
I think chevy left a bad taste in Callway's mouth.... I think the only reason why he kept doing anything with Corvettes is the price/performance ratio, and the fact that he has such a good reputation for Vettes...
 
Here are the answers as I understand them...

Callaway is aligning themselves with manufacturers. They will not do independant engine upgrade programs like an LPE, Mallet, Ripey, etc. This is for economic reasons and the business model that Reeve's has chosen. As explained by him, it makes sense.

I asked him a very pointed question the other night specifically about whether the B2K program "burned him out" on partnering with GM or if they came to him requesting another partership on a twin turbo Corvette if he would do it. The answer was an immediate "Yes, absolutely". So, that's the story.

As for the Protege, that's a great idea. It is an entry point into a Callaway car for many of the young upwardly mobile people. Also, "rice" as we like to call it is a HUGE market whether we like it or not. The production car has been detuned to 170hp for reliability and to avoid kids from killing themselves but it obviously has LOTS more potential with minor tweaks.
 
There are more than one kind of ricer of course... the cars that are actually fast, and the cars that are not... I own and drive a honda civic hatchback... It gets me to work every day, takes the beating so the Vette doesn't have to... I use it for its intended purpose: getting me from point A to point B... The really funny thing is parts for these little rice cars are no cheaper than Vette parts... except they don't give near as much power... the whole ricer market is really rediculous IMO
 
Rob said:
Callaway does rice now!? -Rob

From TheCarConnection.com:

"Callaway Cars says it’s begun building the Mazdaspeed version of the Protégé compact. The hotted-up four-door will sport a 170-hp version of the current car’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine when it arrives for the 2003 model year. Callaway is developing and will produce the 2000 copies for the U.S. and Canadian markets out of its Old Lyme, Conn., headquarters. The Mazdaspeed Protégé goes on sale this October."

Rob, Callaway cars has been doing imports for a long, long time now. The first turbocharged car they did, was the 3 series BMW. The first Twin Turbo car they did was an Alfa and they have also completed VW's and Porsches w/ turbo systems as well.
Having an entire weekend w/ the man, Reeves Callaway provided us a unique opportunity to catch a glimpse inside not only what makes up his cars but, how his projects came to be. Reeves explained how a car makes it to final production and shared a few examples of what he wouldn't or couldn't do as a small car manufacturer.
As my daily beater gets older and the miles pile on, I am looking a two options. One, a Callaway/Mazdaspeed pocket-rocket or, a Callaway 4.6 hse Range Rover (For my wife & trade for her current SUV).
Neat stuff indeed and this is true, the point was made, saying how detuned the cars are ;)
*89x2*
 
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Correction from TheCarConnection.com:

CORRECTION: MAZDASPEED AND CALLAWAY GROOM PROTÉGÉ
Last week we reported that Callaway Cars had begun building the Mazdaspeed version of the Protégé compact — neglecting the important “turbocharging system for” modifier from an early draft. Mazda says Callaway is helping to engineer the 170-hp version of the current car’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine due for the 2003 model year. The resulting Mazdaspeed Protégé goes on sale this October; stay tuned for a full TCC review.
 

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