Here’s a car you rarely see pictured in snow as a marketing ploy that actually works: the 1988 Mazda 323 GTX, a turbocharged hatchback offered for just one year in the U.S. market. These were built to help Mazda meet homologation requirements back in the 80s, and just like almost every car made for that purpose, it’s unequivocally awesome. You don’t see them much today, as the production run was quite short and most of the snow belt / rust belt cars succumbed to cancer years ago, which is extremely ironic considering they were designed to be ridden hard and put away wet. If they weren’t taken off the roads due to rust, teenage drivers took care of the rest. Find this clean, stock example here on craigslist in the Bay Area for $6K. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Roger for the tip.
To me, the best feature of any performance car is its ability to blend in. From the outside, this is just another Japanese hatchback that you would not be faulted for calling “humble.” The simple fact is, however, this was an all-wheel drive turbocharged rally car built for street use, long before the letters “WRX” or “Evo” were uttered by young drivers and weekend rally addicts. If you look at the stock performance figures – 132 b.h.p. from 1.6L of fury – you’d be forgiven if you weren’t knocked out by that kind of cred. However, just like the modern WRX owner, enthusiasts quickly began to push those numbers higher thanks to the magic of boost, which allowed all manners of performance tweaks that uncorked this unassuming three door’s potential.
From the cockpit, you not only got thickly-bolstered Recaro sport seats and a meaty steering wheel, but also the ability to control locking differential. This was not entirely different from the extremely frustrating 1988 Subaru XT6 I owned for a short while, except in the 323GTX, it actually meant something given the car’s rambunctious performance (the XT6 was anything but rambunctious). Of course, like most factory-built performance models, the suspension was also firmed up and the track widened, but many owners will tell you Mazda should have also beefed up the transmission. As any number of owner accounts report, the manual gearbox is fragile at best, and given how many of these cars were absolutely whaled on, it’s a major weak point. Fortunately, the seller is including a spare unit.
The listing reports that the current owner bought this 323GTX off of the car’s original female owner, who apparently religiously serviced this rare performance variant. The new owner will receive a mountain of receipts, which is just what you want to see on a car that already demands slightly more upkeep than your average 323 hatchback. Plus, it helps knowing this one hasn’t been through the wringer of multiple years of teenage-ownership where hard launches and four-wheel drifts were practices as part of the daily commute. The seller notes the rear shocks need replacing but that off-the-shelf KYBs will do the job, or upgrade to a custom Koni/Ground Control setup. This may be one of the nicest ones left, and for that reason I find the price more than fair.
first ‘real’ car was one of these and it was a blast in slippery conditions.
on way home the day i bought it i was invincible, hauling butt over hills on snowy two lanes….soon learned that AWD doesn’t mean squat when there’s a school bus stopped in your lane dropping off its precious cargo.
thankfully i avoided an accident with a quick shortcut through a side-yard. what an attitude correction! didn’t even have insurance on it yet. fool.
anyway, there were 1989 models in the US also, not sure how many each year but less than 1500 total.
tons of fun, light and tossable, but time sure has passed it by from a performance standpoint.
looks to be a nice example and reasonably priced, regardless.
What year did Mazda change from the GLC designation to the 323? I had a 1982 GLC which was indeed a great little car. This GTX seems to still have most of the design lines of the GLC and I know the 323 eventually had rounder lines.
As I recall GLC was RWD; 323 came out in 1985 as the GLC successor but was FWD
As I said, I had a 1982 GLC. It was front wheel drive.
The previous generation GLC (through 1980) was, however, rear wheel drive. (It was distinguished by its more rounded lines and round headlights.)
The GLC wagon carried on as a rear drive car after 1980, though I don’t know when the wagon was discontinued (as I don’t know when the GLC was replaced by the 323 designation.)
Based on info from importarchive.com, the last year for the RWD wagon being offered in the US was 1983.
6K seems like a good deal for this car. They are sought after and I bet it goes quick. Local guy has a white one in pristine condition. He also has a 84 Honda Civic turned mid-engine with a Acura 3.0 V6. I would love to drive that! The 323 not so much.
Mazda has, for the most part, made pretty reliable engines. Had a little bulletproof truck at one point, but this thing has 178,000 miles on it…
Mazda engines were great (I had a 1982 GLC and a 1987 RX-7). However, the body of the GLC got terminal cancer and the paint peeled off of the RX-7).
Both were great/fun cars. But their body work in the 80s left a lot to be desired.
A friend had one of these some years ago, and through judicious selection of bolt-ons it made a ton more power, and reliably too. These are a real blast to drive, especially on loose surfaces.
I’m glad that it is on the other side of the country, or I might do something irrational.
Nice to see one in stock condition. The only ones that I ever saw in person had VERY aggressive tires, roll cages and several additional lights. Hmmm, maybe it was the crowd I hung around with?
The downfall of these cars (rally wise) was the gear box. Extra boost usually meant broken gearbox. They handled great on the loose stuff, pretty neutral, not nearly the under steer that you would expect. And with a little tire pressure modifying, you could could actually get oversteer under boost! ( great fun and a lot of help when trying to get through the woods quickly)
The price feels right on this car.
My wife had a regular 323 – white, auto, hatch – when we met. It became my winter car so that I could park the ’99 Z/28 that wouldn’t budge in the tiniest amount of snow.
I threw a decent pair of skinny Michelin all-seasons on it and that thing cut through almost any amount of snow without hesitation.
Cool car.
Looks like the listing has been removed so I guess it sold fast.
I like that first pic of it parked in the snow in front of the Astoria Column on the coast in Oregon. That parking lot and the grounds there is one of my favorite places on Earth, but I’ve never been there with snow cover! Wish I could share a photo here to show you all the amazing view from that spot.
You can post a link to a picture.
Just upload it to a cloud service, like Google Drive, then post a link to the picture here.
The AWD 323 GTX hatch was actually offered for 2 years, 1988 and 1989. It was the front wheel drive 323 GT sedan that was only offered for 1988, which shared the same turbo 1.6 engine.