1969 Mazda 1500 SS 'Manual' Sedan

Description

The Mazda Luce was in many ways the mainstream model that put the Japanese manufacturer on the map. Styled by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro – rumoured originally to have been a design study for Alfa Romeo which was rejected – it was low and sharp, and looked for more like a contemporary European than its smaller Mazda companion models, the Familia and the kei car Carol. Produced from 1966 to 1991, it was a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive four-door sedan featuring a 1490 cc (1500) SOHC engine, producing 57 kW and 115 Nm. Transmissions were a four-speed manual or three-speed automatic. The 1500 SS version (as here) with twin carburetors was introduced in June 1967, producing 63 kW at 5500 rpm and 117.8 Nm also at 5500 rpm. A stroked 1.8-litre (1796 cc) engine was added in December 1968 producing 76 kW at 5500 rpm and 152 Nm at 2500 rpm. To accommodate this taller 1800 engine the bonnet was given a small bump in the middle with an air inlet on the leading edge. An estate (station wagon) was also added to the Luce range in April 1967, fitted with the same engine as the sedan, though unlike most commercial vehicles at the time, it was also available with the automatic transmission. A two-door coupe was also available but not sold in Australia. Later generations were installed with luxury items and interiors, as the Luce became Mazda’s flagship offering. In Australia it was replaced by the 1800cc four-cylinder 929 model and the rotary-engined RX4 range, the two models sharing fundamentally the same body.