Autozam AZ-1

<!-- | fuel_capacity = -->

The Autozam AZ-1 (known by the framecode PG6SA) is a sports car which was manufactured by Mazda from October 1992 to October 1994 and sold under its Autozam brand. Suzuki provided the engine as well as the inspiration for the design. It is a two-seater kei car with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and gullwing doors.

Suzuki later produced its own badge engineered version named the Suzuki Cara (PG6SS).

History

Pre-production

Suzuki prototypes

The proposal for the AZ-1 goes as far back as 1985 when Suzuki created the Suzuki RS/1 as a mid-engine sports car project for volume production. powered by a modified 1.3-liter G13B engine borrowed from the Cultus GTi.

Mazda's design team, led by Toshihiko Hirai, who was also responsible for the MX-5, took over the design project, despite having a limited budget and capacity.

Mazda prototypes

The redesigned cars, constructed in tube frame with floors and bulkheads constructed from aluminium honeycomb, clad in three different body styles constructed in fiberglass. The cars were constructed around the Kei car regulations of the time (maximum length , maximum engine capacity 550 cc), until this was changed for the following March, hence its model name, AZ-550 Sports.

First introduced at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show as the AZ-550 with three versions.

The Type A is a red sports car with pop-up headlights, front air vent and gull-wing doors.

The Type B, themed as "High-tuned pure sports",

The Type C, has a more distinctive body design as it was inspired by Mazda's Group C sports prototype racers, incorporating its signature colour scheme of blue on white and the number it bore at the 24 hours of Le Mans.

Pre-production

As the cars were well received by the visiting public and the motoring press, Mazda executives decided on production of the car. Although Type C was the better received of the three, Type A was given the green light by executives as they believed that it would be the one most commercially accepted by the buying public.

Much of the development work was carried out in the United Kingdom, undergoing extensive testing at Lotus' Millbrook Proving Ground, despite the fact that the car was never intended for sale outside Japan.

Production

thumb|Rear view

The car was made available to the buying public in January 1992, with two color options, Siberia blue and classic red. Both colors came with Venetian gray lower panels. Each car was sold through the Autozam dealer network in Japan.

Unfortunately by the time car came into production, the recession in Japan had just come into force. Selling for 1,498 million ¥ (the equivalent of $12,400), it was slightly less than a Eunos Roadster, but marginally higher than its competitor, the Honda Beat, selling at 1,388 million ¥ and the Suzuki Cappuccino at ¥1,458 million, the AZ-1 was considered to be both too expensive and too cramped for a kei car. The car failed to sell within its target of 800 per month, in the midst of an economic recession. Production of the car ended after the following year, but Mazda had plenty of stock to sell off.

With a total production of 4,392 over a year, plus 531 Suzuki Cara, compared to 28,010 Cappuccinos and 33,600 Beats (both with production reaching into the latter half of the 1990s).

Alternative versions

In a bid to shift unsold stock, Mazda made an effort to produce special versions. First to come was the Type L option, featuring an enhanced audio system including a sub-woofer in the boot. There were no exterior changes made to the car.

M2 1015

thumb|M2 1015

For 1994, There was also the M2 1015 by M2 Incorporated. The most distinguishing part of the car is the front fog lights incorporated into the bonnet, and the all-new front bumper and rear spoiler. The car came in three different colours: white, black and silver. Like the Mazdaspeed version, the car was painted entirely in a single color.