Photo: lanbonokin/Instagram
The Lamborghini Miura is possibly one of the coolest Italian cars of all time, especially if you've got the version with the gold paint on the bottom. This deformed little munchkin isn't a Miura, but we're not offended by the imitation.
By now, every gearhead should know something about the weird and wonderful Japanese kei cars. They're extremely small, cute and sometimes end up looking like condensed versions of famous performance machines. Like the Suzuki Cappuccino, which resembles a tiny Viper, or the Honda Beat doing an NSX impersonation.
After World War II, the Japanese economy was suffering, and much like in Europe, smaller cars were needed. They were frugal, and the local government encouraged their development through lower ownership taxes.
In the 1980s, Japanese automakers were spurred on by the success of their big sports cars into creating tiny versions. Autozam was a Mazda sub-brand designed around affordability and the AZ-1 was their rival to the Cappuccino and Beat.
It was all about having the most flamboyant body possible, inspired by the world of supercars. It even had gullwing doors and Testarossa-like side intakes.
This is not a stock AZ-1. Instagram handle @lanbonokin belongs to a little Mazda that's been modified to resemble the Miura Jota. It's got the two-tone paint with red on top and gold on the bottom, but also a lot of body modifications.
The whole nose has been changed to resemble that of the Miura, and we can't imagine there's a kit out there that lets you do that easily. The (13-inch) wheels have been adapted, and the rear wing got deleted.
Of course, even after all this work, nobody is going to be fooled into thinking it's a real Lamborghini. The photos are one thing, but the real-world proportions are totally wrong. A kei car is supposed to be no more than 3.4 meters long or 11.2 feet. That's smaller than a modern Fiat 500.
After World War II, the Japanese economy was suffering, and much like in Europe, smaller cars were needed. They were frugal, and the local government encouraged their development through lower ownership taxes.
In the 1980s, Japanese automakers were spurred on by the success of their big sports cars into creating tiny versions. Autozam was a Mazda sub-brand designed around affordability and the AZ-1 was their rival to the Cappuccino and Beat.
It was all about having the most flamboyant body possible, inspired by the world of supercars. It even had gullwing doors and Testarossa-like side intakes.
This is not a stock AZ-1. Instagram handle @lanbonokin belongs to a little Mazda that's been modified to resemble the Miura Jota. It's got the two-tone paint with red on top and gold on the bottom, but also a lot of body modifications.
The whole nose has been changed to resemble that of the Miura, and we can't imagine there's a kit out there that lets you do that easily. The (13-inch) wheels have been adapted, and the rear wing got deleted.
Of course, even after all this work, nobody is going to be fooled into thinking it's a real Lamborghini. The photos are one thing, but the real-world proportions are totally wrong. A kei car is supposed to be no more than 3.4 meters long or 11.2 feet. That's smaller than a modern Fiat 500.
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