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Mazda3 sedan revealed by Top Gear Russia [w/poll]

Thanks to our comrades at Top Gear Russia, the trickling reveal of the Mazda3 sedan has begun. We saw the hatch in person in New York (and loved it), and we wanted to see if the trunked version could hold onto the same mojo. If you like the Mazda6, then you should like the Mazda3 because it takes just about everything from its toothsome big brother and shrinks it into a compact package.
Top Gear Russia was allowed to share photographs of the Mazda sedan they call "Treshka" (or they leaked them, depending on whom you talk to), but not their drive impressions. The site page says it will come in four trims for the Russian market - Drive, Active, Active+ and Supreme - and offer three engines. Our specifications will certainly differ. Other than that, all we have to go on are the looks, which some may argue are even better than the hatch thanks to a trunk line that provides more balance to that long hood up front.
The Mazda3 will go on sale later this year and US prices should be announced in September. For the time being, content yourself with the gallery of high-res images above.

Mazda CX-3 crossover coming to LA

The Mazda booth at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show will showcase some new crossovers. In addition to the refreshed CX-5 that we're expecting, the Japanese automaker has announced plans to unveil its new CX-3 compact crossover.
According to Mazda, the brand's entry into the compact CUV market will feature "the full range of SKYACTIV technology and KODO - Soul of Motion design." We take that to mean lightweight chassis and body architectures along with fuel-sipping gasoline and, perhaps, diesel engines.
The CX-3 will have to take on a slew of upcoming competitors, including the Honda HR-V, Chevrolet Trax and Jeep Renegade, and reports indicate it will share a platform with the Mazda2, which is just starting production in Mexico. We don't yet know if it will be front-wheel drive only or if all-wheel drive will be optional. The CUV is also likely to share the Mazda2's engine, which isn't yet revealed for the North American market. Japan gets the 2 with either a 1.3-liter gasoline engine or a 1.5-liter diesel.

Watch this 1,500-hp Mazda MX-5 smoke a race track

In December 2014 we watched New Zealand drifter "Mad Mike" Whiddett assemble his RADBUL, an NC-series Mazda MX-5 Miata with a four-rotor engine aided by twin Garrett turbochargers. The Dr. Frankensteins at engine builders Pulse Performance expected their creation to be good for 1,500 horsepower. This year we get to watch Whiddett run the monster around Highlands Motorsports Park in New Zealand, brewing up enough tire smoke to set of fire alarms in the International Space Station. When the car was finished in February Pulse Performance put it on the dyno, toning down the boost because "the tires easily smoked the rollers." The result on the day was 1,032 horsepower from the 2.6-liter engine. When Whiddett campaigned it at the Forth Worth, TX round of this year's Formula Drift Pro Championship, he said tiny adjustments have a huge effect on the way the car behaves so they were still trying to find the right balance a few months into the season because of the testing limit outside of competition. Unsurprisingly, he also said the car "is so damn fast that I'm actually having trouble slowing down." RADBUL is the third in Whiddett's line of Mazda drift specials, after the RX-8 BADBUL and the RX-7 MADBUL. Check out the video above for the ballet, and for more, check out the behind-the-scenes and the 360-degree POV videos.