Mazdaspeed Protegé

The story

Mazda's American arm developed the Mazdaspeed Protegé to give its sharp-handling sedan the engine it had always lacked. With Callaway's help, a Garrett T25 turbocharger and an intercooler took the 2.0-liter four to 170 hp and 160 lb-ft, and the rest of the car was toughened to match: a Tochigi Fuji limited-slip differential, thicker driveshafts, a heavy-duty clutch, firmer Racing Beat suspension and larger brakes. The cabin gained Sparco pedals for heel-and-toe work, a Nardi wheel and a short-throw 5-speed, and the first cars came in Black Mica or a loud Spicy Orange.

It was clearly quicker than the MP3, putting its power down instead of spinning an inside wheel, and it carried real speed out of autocross corners. Road & Track spotted a trade, though: the new steering rack and the limited-slip diff fed more into the wheel and dulled a little of the MP3's precision. Roughly 4,500 were built across the original 2003 run and a mid-year update with new colors. Clean, unmodified examples are now scarce and rising in value, and many Protegé5 owners borrow its hardware.