Here a very small car from 1960 which was the start of a success story. The very first passenger car from Mazda was equipped with a "stretch engine", but was a good start for the factory.
Mazda's first passenger car
When Mazda came to Norway in the early 1960s, it was perceived by most as a completely new brand. But this factory, located in Hiroshima, Japan, can trace its history all the way back to 1920. In the beginning, various industrial products were produced. Production of vehicles started with motorcycles around 1930, and the first cars came as light trucks a few years later. Passenger cars in series production started in 1960 with the small R-360. Later came the models 1500 and 1800 which were some beautiful models with a design from Bertone. Mazda started out as one of the first car manufacturers with wankel engines in their cars. The first model was a sports car with a nice design. Sales of Mazda in Norway started in 1967. Mazda quickly reached the top of sales with the models 818, 616 and 929. Reliable cars at a good price appealed to Norwegian car buyers. Since then, Mazda has been known for its family cars.
Mazda R-360 Coupe
This little Japanese friend never came to Norway as far as we know. But it is a symbol of how the car manufacturers tried to adapt to reality after peace came in 1945. Most things were missing, both roads, petrol and cars. The solutions that the car manufacturers came up with were simple and cheap cars that were cheap to run. Mazda started the production of large trucks and the factory was established as a car manufacturer. Already in 1960, as previously mentioned, the small 360 model arrived. It was a 2-door coupe that became very popular at home in Japan. In Japan there was a separate tax class for cars with engines smaller than 360 ccm. Most Japanese car manufacturers delivered small cars in this class, but Mazda became one of the market leaders. Mazda further developed the model series with a small 4-seater model. The R-360 model disappeared in 1966.
Data Mazda R-360
Length 298 cm,
width 129 cm
height 129 cm.
Top speed 80 km/h.
Engine 366 ccm / 16 hp.
See
Here is a picture of the further developed 4-seater Mazda Carol 360 (P360) produced from 1962. Like the R-360, the Mazda Carol was also a "kei car" with an engine under 360 cubic meters. It was a water-cooled inline-four, supposedly the world's smallest. In comparison, the R-360 had a simpler air-cooled V-2 engine..
The image is taken from carfromjapan.com. The car is RHD with very low mileage. It can be yours - delivered to the quay in Drammen - for approximately NOK 230.