 | This articlemay containcitations that do notverify the text. Please helpimprove it by checking for citation inaccuracies and resourcing or removing material failing verification.(February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Autozam AZ-1 (PG6SA) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Mazda |
| Also called | Suzuki Cara (PG6SS) Mazda AZ-550 |
| Production | AZ-1: October 1992 – October 1994 (4,392) Cara: 1993–1994 (531) |
| Designer | Tatsumi Fukunaga (Suzuki RS/3) Toshiko Hirai (design leader) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sportskei car |
| Body style | 2-doorcoupé |
| Layout | RMR layout |
| Platform | FRP body on steel chassis |
| Doors | Gullwing |
| Related | Mazda Carol Suzuki Alto |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 657 ccF6ADOHC12-valveturboI3 |
| Transmission | 5-speedmanual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,235 mm (88.0 in) |
| Length | 3,295 mm (129.7 in) |
| Width | 1,395 mm (54.9 in) |
| Height | 1,150 mm (45.3 in) |
| Curb weight | 720 kg (1,587 lb) |
TheAutozam AZ-1 (known by the framecodePG6SA) is asports car which was manufactured byMazda from October 1992 to October 1994 and sold under itsAutozam brand.[1]Suzuki provided the engine as well as the inspiration for the design.[2] It is a two-seaterkei car with arear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout andgullwing doors.[1]
Power came from the same Suzuki-sourced 657 ccturbocharged engine used by theSuzuki Alto that produced 64 PS (47 kW) at 6,500 rpm and 85 N⋅m (63 lb⋅ft) at 4,000 rpm. The top speed was electronically governed to be 87 mph (140 km/h), with theoretical top speeds without the governor being approximately 110 mph (177 km/h)[3]
Suzuki later produced its ownbadge engineered version named theSuzuki Cara (PG6SS).
The proposal for the AZ-1 goes as far back as 1985 when Suzuki created theSuzuki RS/1 as amid-engine sports car project for volume production.[2] Suzuki's design for the Tokyo Motor Show was a fully functional car with a front/rearweight distribution of 45:55,[4] powered by a modified1.3-liter G13B engine borrowed from theCultus GTi.[2]
This was followed up by theTatsumi Fukunaga-designed RS/3, unveiled for the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show. This version of the car retained many of its design features of the predecessor, but many of its design features were modified to meet Japanese safety regulations as well as for practicality. However, the project was abandoned in favor of theroadster project they had been working on, named later theCappuccino.[5]
Mazda's design team, led byToshihiko Hirai, who was also responsible for theMX-5,[6] took over the design project, despite having a limited budget and capacity.
The redesigned cars, constructed intube frame with floors andbulkheads constructed from aluminiumhoneycomb, clad in three different body styles constructed in fiberglass. The cars were constructed around theKei car regulations of the time (maximum length 126 inches (3,200 mm), maximum engine capacity 550 cc), until this was changed for the following March, hence its model name,AZ-550 Sports.[7]
First introduced at the 1989Tokyo Motor Show as the AZ-550[8] with three versions.
TheType A is a red sports car withpop-up headlights, frontair vent andgull-wing doors.[9]
TheType B, themed as "High-tuned pure sports",[9] was inspired by the trends in the tuning industry and in current concept car design, featuring greenhouse pyramid roof without a rearward sweep to theC-pillar. It had a racing car inspired interior, unlike Type A, it was aiming for the rough and spartan look and was the only model that had a more conventional forward door hinging.[9] It featured a pair of bulging headlamps and incorporated dualmufflers.[9][10]
TheType C, has a more distinctive body design as it was inspired by Mazda'sGroup Csports prototype racers, incorporating its signature colour scheme of blue on white and the number it bore at the24 hours of Le Mans.[9] Featuring a bigger air intake than the former two, venting to the forward-positioned radiator and exits it along the front rim of the cowl. There are many design cues typical to an endurance racer such as the wing mirror andBBS style brake-coolingwheel discs. Compared to the Type B, this version is far more spartan.[11]
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.[9] The Type A would only receive a minor design alteration prior to production, as the pop-up headlights were dropped in favour of fixed units, purely for structural rigidity reasons.[9] The front air vent was the other design alteration made to the car prior to production.
Nonetheless, the car took three years to get into production as the engineering team changed the car's internal skeleton frame to steel to allow for further rigidity.[6] The dashboard design was also changed, to a less futuristic but still sporting look.[12]
Much of the development work was carried out in the United Kingdom, undergoing extensive testing atLotus'Millbrook Proving Ground, despite the fact that the car was never intended for sale outside Japan.[12][13]
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.[14]
Unfortunately by the time car came into production, therecession in Japan had just come into force. Selling for 1,498 million¥ (the equivalent of $12,400), it was slightly less than aEunos Roadster, but marginally higher than its competitor, theHonda Beat, selling at 1,388 million ¥[15] and theSuzuki Cappuccino at ¥1,458 million,[16] 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.[17]
With a total production of 4,392 over a year, plus 531Suzuki Cara, compared to 28,010 Cappuccinos[18] and 33,600 Beats[19] (both with production reaching into the latter half of the 1990s).
In a bid to shift unsold stock, Mazda made an effort to produce special versions. First to come was theType L option, featuring an enhanced audio system including asub-woofer in the boot. There were no exterior changes made to the car.[17]
Mazda also introduced theMazdaspeed version to showcase the parts that were available for the car, theA-spec, thebody kit features an enhancedhood, frontspoiler and rear wing. Unlike the production version, the car came in an all-red or blue body color. It also came with a host of options includingshock absorbers with sportsspring sets, strut bars for the front and rear,mechanical LSD, enhancedair filter and astainless steel andceramic muffler. It also came with its own brand ofalloy wheels as opposed to the production's steel wheels.[20]
_front.jpg)
For 1994, There was also theM2 1015 byM2 Incorporated. The most distinguishing part of the car is the frontfog 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.[17]
Originally, only fifty units were to be produced by M2, then sold through Autozam dealers. They were so popular, production continued and estimates of between 300-350 were ultimately sold.[17] A genuine "M2 1015" can be identified by the rear emblem stating the version name. More details can be found in “M2 Voice” (linked below)
The AZ-1 was also sold by Suzuki as theCara, with only minor detail changes including the addition of fog lamps.
