Autozam AZ-1
Why 6.8: A 657 cc turbo triple, a 720 kg curb weight and gullwing doors on a kei-regulation chassis — Suzuki's engine under a Mazda-built body, with unassisted steering doing the rest of the talking. Never federalized, but 25-year import eligibility turned a forgotten oddity into a genuine JDM collector favorite that still gets driven, not just displayed.
Layout
Natural habitat
Ride comfort
Sound
A 657cc Suzuki triple sits inches behind your head with no insulation, so the off-beat three-cylinder thrum, the turbo spool and the wastegate all arrive together. It is capped by being tiny and thrashy rather than tuneful. Character by proximity alone.
3-cylinder · turbocharged · 7,600 rpm redline · rated 5.8 / 10 for engine sound
Market value
Median asking price, good condition · €5k (2000) → €20k (2026), trending up · illustrative data
Child seats · ISOFIX
Built before ISOFIX existed, so there are no anchor points at all. A child seat here is a seatbelt installation in the only passenger seat there is.
Derived from production years and seating layout, not a per-car source. ISOFIX was standardised as ISO 13216 in 1997, required on new EU model types from 2011 and on all new EU cars from 2014.
The long version
The 25-year window turned it from a Japanese curiosity into the affordable gullwing, and the ownership pattern stayed honest: at 720 kg and 64 hp there is no speculation case strong enough to stop anyone driving it. Owners treat the fragility as part of the charm — parts hunts through Japanese auctions, a practiced climb over the wide sills, kei-car fuel bills. It is bought by people who wanted the strangest possible route to fun per dollar, and that is exactly how it gets used.