That $23,500 Mazda Microcar Only Has 63 HP - Then You See the Doors

If a friend told you they just dropped $23,500 on a car with 63 horsepower, you’d probably check their math. But when that car is a 1992 Mazda Autozam AZ-1 with its gullwing doors lifted skyward, the price starts to make sense. This tiny wedge-shaped kei car recently sold on Cars & Bids for $23,500, proving that Japan’s oddest sports cars still command serious respect.

The AZ-1 came out in 1992, during a wonderfully strange era when Japanese automakers competed to build the most entertaining machines possible within strict kei-car rules. Those regulations capped engine size at 657 cc and horsepower at 63—so engineers squeezed every last legal pony from a turbocharged three-cylinder.

The result was a mid-engine microcar that looked like a miniature Italian exotic, complete with dramatic gullwing doors and a low-slung profile.

Performance isn’t about speed here. Zero to 60 mph takes around 10 seconds. But at just 1,587 pounds with a five-speed manual and the engine mounted behind the seats, the AZ-1 earned a reputation for nimble handling. This particular example showed 33,400 miles and came with a few mods: 14-inch wheels, a badly worn Mazdaspeed steering wheel, aftermarket gauges, and a Sony head unit.

Mazda sold the AZ-1 through its now-defunct Autozam sub-brand, and Suzuki handled assembly. Fewer than 4,400 were built before production ended in 1995, making it rare even in Japan. S. auction sites shows quite a few have been imported. For collectors who value character over horsepower, this tiny gullwing gem is hard to beat.