296 hp??? Who told you it had that? According to the link below you have;


272 hp
166 lbs of torque at 4000 rpm




http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...ring-road_test


Also this link has it doing the ¼ mile a 16.3 @ 87 mph.

http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezfl...b8a2df4cf3.pdf



Our Mustangs have 210 hp @ 5300 rpm and 240 lbs of torque @ 3500. Does the ¼ mile in: 15.3 sec @ 93
mph

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ng_v-6_page_11

Carol Shelby once said it ain't horse power that wins races it's TORQUE!

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Sp...tang&trimid=-1

Looks like the Mustang is the faster car to me!

 

I work at a Mazda Dealership and Mazda does use alot of parts and technology from Ford.
As far as the Speed Protege, Miata, 6, 3, or even the CX7. They are pretty quick for "out of the box" power. But the Speed versions of the protege, miata, and 6 have been discontinued.
Simple bolt-ons on the Speed3 really kicks it up a few notches. The parts manager didnt believe it (he drives and 07 GT manual) and lined up against a bone stock speed3 and they were right next to each other the whole way with the 3's nose right in front.

 

2009 MazdaSpeed3 Specs;


Standard Engine 2.3L 263 hp I4
Horsepower 263 @ 5500 RPM
Torque (lb-ft) 280 @ 3000 RPM

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Sp...EED3&trimid=-1


07 Mustang GT;

3.6L 300 hp V8
Horsepower 300 @ 5750 RPM
Torque 320 @ 4500 RPM

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Sp...tang&trimid=-1

Speed3 may be a quick little car, but it looks like your buddy doesn't know how to drive his Mustang GT.

 

Thats probably true... lol He thinks he is amazing! he got a reality check

 

alot of cars are faster than the V6 stang and even the V8, so ? I could find a hundred cars faster, and they'd still be uglier. The Mazdaspeed 3 being pretty high up on the ugly list. The first second I saw the S197 Mustang I knew I had to have one. It wasn't about the motor, or the speed or the horsepower. It WAS the car, period the end. We love our pony so much we'll be buying a GT soon, I'm shopping for the right car. I'm slow, but I'm shopping. I'm going to need a bigger garage, but I'll make room for 2 Mustangs.

 

Ken04 has the right idea. If you want a "out of the box" race car, a v6 mustang isn't it. I love my mustang, and won't trade it for a "out of the box" race car, because that isn't what I want. A mustang is a MUSTANG. If somebody wants a riceburner with a rattle can hanging off the back, so be it.

 

That's why I bought a V6. If I wanted more power I would have bought a GT500. At least we don't make our Stangs to look like this;

 

Yeah the stang is something special and thats why all of us were drawn to it. It's not a race car out of the box, but with some mods they can get much quicker. For the money it would have cost you to upgrade to an out of the box race car you could probably beat them.

 

on any given day, there's only 1 'fastest street car' in the world. Buy a Viper, the Z06 is faster, then the Vector is faster than that, a Bugatti Veyron is faster, an Atom 3 is faster than that, on and on and on. The S197 is a stunning car, it is flat beautiful. I don't have the millions of dollars it would take to have the fastest car, nor would I spend it trying to buy it if I did. For the relatively small amount of money I have into this car it looks like a million bucks, goes pretty fast, handles pretty good and is a kick to drive. It gets a ton of compliments and thumbs up from people. My little V6 coupe is awesome looking with just a few bucks spent on mods. I'll spend a few more bucks on it, but I do that as a hobby not in a quest to beat a Mazdaspeed3. I could really care less if one of those 'shoes on wheels' can, or could beat me. Having a fast, ugly care is like having a homely GF with big *****. Fun when the lights are out, but morning will come. Then you have to justify that in the daylight. Everytime I walk up on the stang I'm happy and don't have to put a bag over my head to drive it.

 

double post, sorry