This Could Be The World’s Smallest Supercar
There are things that automakers sometimes do to keep themselves busy, yet turn out to be the ultimate pieces of of work that consumers around the world take a lot of pride in. The Autozam AZ-1 is such a project!
Manufactured as a joint venture by Mazda and Suzuki which teamed up to design a small car for minimalist Japanese fans. The Autozam AZ-1 was simply meant to impress a class of people who are minimalist in nature as well.
Despite appearing low on paper, the car packs impressive motor features when it comes to performance. It was first produced for the Japanese market but went ahead to record good sales in the U.S. and Canada.
Power comes from a 657 cc three-cylinder turbocharged three cylinder making 63 horsepower (47 kilowatts), which routes through a five-speed manual. While not overly powerful, a weight of just 1,587 pounds (720 kilograms) means that the small amount of horsepower goes a long way.
An important feature that makes the Az-1 a famous car is its gullwing doors. Even with a minimalist approach, this car managed to incorporate some sense of beauty, if only to stand out from the heckling crowd.
In addition to mounting the engine behind the driver, things are tight inside. At 5-feet-10-inches tall, a regular chap will out-rightly complain that the cabin is too small… the pedals too are significantly tiny.
These are just some shortcomings that come with an ambitious project like this. Nonetheless, it was an overall good attempt at making a super small car get sporty.
