[MOC] RC 1/11 Autozam AZ-1

[syclone]

Good Day.
Today I present you another japanese car in 1/11 scale - Autozam AZ-1.

This kei class sport coupé is one of the most recogniseable/famous ones outside japan in spite of it's poor sales due to the high asking price and the burst of the bubble economy at the time. It also forms part of what is known as "Heisei ABC Trio" (Autozam AZ-1; Honda Beat; Suzuki Capuccino).
The real car was developed by Mazda (Autozam being their brand focused on Kei car and sales of rebadged vehicles) with the F6A engine (in-line 3-cylinder DOHC turbo) coming from Suzuki. It was sold in the standard, Mazdaspeed and special editions (such as M2 1015) as well as under Suzuki badge as "CARA". Following the japanese kei class category standards, AZ-1 has 64ps (47'8kW) and is quite small at 3295 x 1395 x 1150 mm. To put that into perspective, here it is against a "small" european car:

Some of the reasons why this car stands out so much are the gullwing doors and the MR layout. 

This model represents the standard edition, with a low factory spoiler(wing?), in it's iconic two-tone red+gun metal colour scheme. Initially it was intended to use the 43.2 wheels, but after making the Daihatsu Hijet in 1/11 scale with the 49'5x14 tyres, I wanted to make them in same size. This allowed me to cram both more detailing and functionality. The final model's features are:
- M-motor for drive (with differential)
- Servo for steering
- Front independent MacPherson strut suspension with positive caster angle
- Rear independent MacPherson strut suspension
- Working steering wheel
- Working fake engine
- Working headlights
- Detailed dashboard with AC vents, stereo and gauges
- Detailed interior with gearlever, emergency brake, seats and door detailing
- Openable doors, boot and bonnet
I've tried to replicate the general look the best I could and to make the model more or less consistent overall. Hence the use of liftarms placed onto flexaxles for front quarter panels, as bare flexaxles stood out too much. The side intakes took some time to make as well, and even though I've tried using the 1x2 grille tiles, in the end the bionicle tooth piece ended up being my go to solution. The lower door sills actually use a bit of inherent slack coused by frictionless pins to archieve that slight inwards angle towards the bottom, but it is quite sturdy and doesn't damage any parts.

Presentation video:

PDF instructions available on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-86177/syclone/rc-autozam-az-1/
Photo gallery (and an extra at the end of post):

I've actually forgotten to take an underside picture, so here's a render instead to make up for it.

Although red is definitely the most iconic colour for the AZ-1, there was also a second factory-available colour - blue. Unfortunately TLG's Technic colour palette has barely any blue parts, and having Bruno's Ferrari as parts donor the choice was already made, but if you don't mind ordering 3rd part parts, here's what it'd look like:

Hope you've enjoyed this small model - C&C is most welcome as always)))

[Seasider]

One of my favourite Kai cars, looks great. Can it be built in white as the primary colour as I’ve seen a lot of them in white and think it looks very racer style like that

[Maaboo the Witch]

Now this should've been the time machine in Back to the Future. 

[nerdsforprez]

Great scale.  WONDERFUL functions.  All-around quality submission.  

[suffocation]

The sheer amount of detail and functionality in such a small package is mind-blowing

[Milan]

What they said
Scheduled for frontpaging

[2GodBDGlory]

Nice work! That's a car I've read about and been impressed by (and been tempted to build), but I've never seen a Technic model of it before. Good work on the functions! I appreciate the MacPherson strut design.

[GerritvdG]

Thanks for sharing and creating this! In addition to what have been said I also really like the background information because I didn’t know this car.

[Thirdwigg]

This is my favorite Kei car. Thanks for creating this, and congratulations for all the functions in the small package. 

[FriedlS]

Great work!!! Where can i get these springs? 

[MinusAndy]

I only found out about these awesome little cars about a month ago from a mate who is into jap stuff. What a great moc. 

[syclone]

Wow, huge thanks for everyone's praise! Glad to hear the car has caused a good impression)))  Never expected to get it to the frontpage either, thank You Milan 

@Seasider About alternative colour - it is 100% possible - only change necessary is to substitute the 3L smooth axle joiner to the version with ridges. It would require some rare parts though, like 2L axles in white. In the spoiler below the renders of the two-tone and full white versions))

@FriedlS The spring were taken out from the soft LBG shock absorbers - part 76138

Spoiler

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by syclone

[Hrafn]

Thank you for sharing this!  You definitely packed a lot in there.

[Gray Gear]

I really love this car! It is a car that could only have been born on the 90's. A super small rear engine 3-cylinder turbo that still wasn't fast, with no storage space at all. And no normal sized human will fit in it. It's about as impractical as a car can be, but it can do one thing: be fun while driving. And that's why I love it.

You did a great job recreating it. The ammont of funcions in such a small body is awesome! Most has been said already, so I'll just add that I like the side letters and the correct yellow K-car license plate 

And here's a pic of the early Mazda 550 type a concept when the car still had pop-up headlights... A minute of silence please.

Thanks for sharing this m8 

[Maaboo the Witch]

Just now, Gray Gear said:

I really love this car! It is a car that could only have been born on the 90's.

All the best stuff is from the 90's! 

[Lyichir]

Oh this is great! Coming from a non-Technic builder (mostly), I like the technique you've used for the front wheel wells... by using multiple flex axles with liftarms spaced along their length, it feels like the best of both worlds between the versatile but flimsy-looking ones that use flex axles alone and the more solid but less versatile prefab wheel arch elements. I can't really speak to the mechanical elements but the fact that you've made a working model that looks as clean and accurate to the real thing is impressive!

[ord]

Wow! I always loved this car and it's great to see a near-perfect rendition of it. Excellent work!

[TechnicStudy]

Nice work:)

[Seasider]

@syclone thanks for the white render … thankfully the cars for sale (2x blue, 2 x white) on eBay in the U.K. are £15k and I don’t have that sort of money at the moment and my mx-5 is taking up the garage 🤣

[weavil]

Looks awesome! It's a nice small build!

[Leonardo da Bricki]

I'm always impressed by the fact that every time I log into this site, another car or vehicle I have never heard of is built for me to examine and admire. Excellent work, especially with the small scale.

[M_longer]

 

[syclone]

Ohohoh, Doug at it again with another whacky car (though it pales in comparison to the Nissan S-cargo )
While at it, thanks a lot for even more positive replies))))) Aaaand honestly quite happy the pop-ups weren't a thing on the Autozam - at least that version, as it looks quite sad hahah.

I'll leave another render here - three colours side-by-side.

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Polarlicht]

Man, i was about to post dougs video here. :D I love his videos about weird quirky cars.

[SaperPL]

Really cool build, I'm glad I checked the TLCB today :)

The way the front wheels are attached is really cool - great job on figuring out this technique.