MAZDA AZ-1

PROOF THAT GOOD THINGS DO COME IN SMALL PACKAGES

by B.J. Hoffman

“I’ve got shoes bigger than that!” “Is that thing legal on the street?” “How do you get the doors open?” Just a few remarks we heard while driving around Los Angeles, California, in Mazda’s mini-car, the AZ-1. And let’s get this out of the way now: You can’t buy one here, and there are no plans to bring them to America. But we don’t need it…yet. This micro-mini coupe is strictly for Japan, where, in the cities, traffic is unbearably congested and parking space is at a premium. The mid-engine rear-drive AZ-1 has a turbocharged and intercooled, 660-cubic-centimeter (0.66 liters!) three-cylinder powerplant. Output is only 64 horsepower at 6500 rpm with 63 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. But don’t sneer if it pulls up next to you at a stoplight…

You're reading a preview of

MotorTrend (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 1993

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.