The theme was building three mini-cars with different personalities departing from the same chassis and engine.
Type A: Styling incorporates typical elements of mid-engine sports cars, such as a low, short front hood and an advanced cabin.
Type B: The body looks powerful with its thick nose and protruding front fender. The rear engine hood on deck and black body support this image.
Type C: It's styled like a mini Group C racer. Mazda claims people can take the car as a joke.
They were first introduced at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show as the AZ-550 with three versions. Type A's first one was a red sports car with pop-up headlights, a front air vent, and distinctive Ferrari Testarossa-inspired side strakes, but the most distinctive design features were: gull-wing doors.
Type B, themed as "High-tuned pure sports," was inspired by the trends in the tuning industry and current concept car design, featuring a greenhouse pyramid roof without a rearward sweep to the C-pillar. It had a racing car-inspired interior; unlike Type A, it aimed for the rough and spartan look and was the only model with a more conventional forward door hinging. It featured a pair of bulging headlamps and incorporated dual mufflers.
Type C had a more distinctive body design as it was inspired by Mazda's Group C sports prototype racers, incorporating its signature color scheme of blue on white and the number it bore at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It featured a more significant air intake than the former two, venting to the forward-positioned radiator and exiting it along the front rim of the cowl. Many design cues are typical to an endurance racer, such as the wing mirror and BBS-style brake-cooling wheel discs. Compared to Type B, this version was far more spartan in comparison.
Source: www.conceptcars.it
Images: www.conceptcars.it; www.suzuki-collection.com
Pictured Above: 1989 Mazda AZ550 Type A
Pictured Above: 1989 Mazda AZ550 Type B
Pictured Above: 1989 Mazda AZ550 Type C - Race version
Pictured Above: AZ550 Sports
Pictured Above: AZ550 Sports (AZ-1)
Pictured Above: Design Sketches
