Mazda prototype

Press, 8 March 1984, Page 24

Mazda prototype

This sleek two-door hatchback could be a pointer to the direction in which Toyo Kogyo will go as it develops its volumeselling Mazda 323. Based on the 323 1500 GT, a few examples of which have reached New Zealand, this car is a development model known as the Sport R.

Body fairings, restyled colour-keyed bumpers (the one in front incorporating a deep spoiler), a rear spoiler and large diameter wheels

fitted with 60 series tyres give tha car its sporty appearance. Toyo Kogyo has also come up with a prototype convertible version of the 323. Apart from the absence of a roll-over bar, it is remarkably similar in appearance to Ford’s first European-built convertible in 20 years — the Escort

Cabriolet — which went on sale in the United Kingdom just before Christmas. Universal concern about passenger safety in open

cars caused the decline in the popularity of convertibles, but in introducing the soft-topped Escort, Ford has followed a growing trend. The Volkswagen Golf, Fiat Strada and Talbot Samba are all produced in convertible versions.

Toyo Kogyo is the first contemporary Japanese carmaker to develop a prototype convertible, but whether the 323 soft top will ever become a production model remains to be seen.