Since the debut of the third-gen BT-50 in 2020, Mazda Australia has been continuously upgrading it with new trims and a large number of genuine accessories. The latest addition is two new accessory packs designed to improve its off-road prowess and visual presence – the sportier SP Pro and the rugged Thunder Pro. Starting with the one that looks ready to conquer the Australian wilderness, the Thunder Pro is based on the flagship Thunder trim of the BT-50. The standard model already comes fitted with an off-road bumper, bullbar, lightbar, 18-inch alloy wheels, and fender flares, but the Pro adds a snorkel, a pair of additional Lightforce LEDs (1 lux of illumination at a distance of up to 1.1 km), and side decals.
More importantly, the Thunder Pro package
includes the locally developed and tested Old Man Emu BP-51 suspension
featuring nitrogen-filled dampers with a remote reservoir. Mazda says that the
suspension is destined for medium-load use and is manually adjustable for
compression and rebound allowing drivers to personalize the driving experience
according to the circumstances. Next up is the Mazda BT-50 SP Pro, upgrading
the stock SP trim with a new set of 18-inch wheels, a Lightforce LED lightbar
integrated within the grille (1 lux of illumination at a distance of up to 569
m), and side decals. In the chassis department, the SP Pro gets a Nitrocharger
suspension with upgraded springs, twin-tube shock absorbers, and a lift kit of
up to 51 mm.
The new Mazda Genuine Accessory packages
for the BT-50 will be available to order from July 2023 through Australian
dealerships. Interested parties can spec them as part of a new vehicle order,
or install them to an existing BT-50. The SP Pro is priced at AU$ 7,668 (US$
5,136) and the Thunder Pro costs AU$ 9,046 (US$ 6,058). The Mazda BT-50 shares
its underpinnings with the Isuzu D-Max and is available with two turbodiesel
powertrains. The 1.9-liter engine produces 147 hp and 350 Nm of torque, while the 3.0-liter engine is good for 188 hp and 450 Nm of torque. Both are mated to a six-speed
automatic gearbox sending power to all four wheels through a 4WD system.
