October 19 2008
Rare survivor: 1970 Mazda 1500 Deluxe
As soon as we spotted this car for sale we knew it had been designed by Giugiaro. He designed it when working for Bertone. It looks more like some Italian luxury sedan rather than a Japanese Mazda, or Luce as these cars were known as back in the land of the rising sun. Between 1965 and 1971, more than 120,000 of these Mazdas were produced. Australia would be your best bet to find one these days though …
Not many of these remain on the roads today, despite their well-known reliability. We like this particular light-gray one with the wider steel wheels, they suit the clean lines of the car really well. The engine is a SOHC 1500cc delivering 82bhp, and not the most ideal engine for a car of this weight. The car did come later with an 1800, and there are also SS versions, with a more sporty spec.
The car is for sale on marktplaats.nl and on AB Auto’s website for EUR2950 out of Holland. We’re tempted.
i have a mazda 1500 luce deluxe 1969 its a fantastic car.
mazda 1500 was my first personal car.i still regret selling it.looking for it in karachi pakistan,any body who could help me find the same model, I would be gratefull