Mazda Xedos 6

The Eunos 500 was initially presented at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show, and was based on the Mazda CA platform, also used by the Mazda Capella. with Honest John stating that it "could have been the prototype for a new small Jaguar - with Mazda reliability," There were also plans to market the car under the Amati 300 name, but they did not come to fruition. The Xedos 6 was available with two different engines: a 1.6-litre straight-four (available in Europe from the beginning of production, in the UK from 1993 onwards) and a 2-litre V6 (available everywhere from the car's launch) The 1.6-litre engine produced , and was criticized for being underpowered, whilst the 2-litre engine produced , The V6 models were capable of up to with a manual transmission, and with an automatic transmission, and were claimed to be able to do 30-31 miles per gallon (imperial). In comparison, the 1.6-litre models had a top speed of with a manual transmission, or with an automatic. producing and having a top speed of . The 2-litre V6 was offered in Japan, but in a higher state of tune; Japanese models produced from their KF-ZE engines, For 1994, a 1.8-litre straight-four was introduced as the new base model, with a power output of , whilst the 1.8-litre V6 was discontinued. In 1996, following Mazda's decision to axe the Eunos brand, the Eunos 500 was rebranded as the Mazda Eunos 500, and remained in production under that name until 1999. ==Motorsport==

The Xedos 6 was used in the British Touring Car Championship in 1993 and 1994. Roger Dowson Engineering ran the works Mazda team in 1993 (under the Mazda Racing Team name, Patrick Watts drove the Xedos 6 during the season, taking his first pole at Snetterton, and three fourth-place finishes. He finished 15th in the championship, two points behind former champion Tim Harvey in the works Renault 19. Mazda were classified eighth, and last, in the manufacturer's championship. but the season would prove to be less successful. Neal was forced to withdraw from the series after suffering injuries from a big crash in the sixth round at Silverstone, whilst Leslie withdrew halfway through the season due to budgetary problems. Leslie's best finishes were a pair of eighth positions at the first two rounds, whilst Neal's was a tenth at Snetterton. Neal finished 23rd in the championship, level with privateers James Thompson and Nigel Smith, whilst Leslie finished 20th. Mazda were classified tenth, and last, in the manufacturer's championship. ==References==