Mazda 616

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Mazda
Mazda 616 sedan (1974–1979)
Mazda 616 sedan (1974–1979)
616/618
Production period: 1970-1979
Class : Middle class
Body versions : Limousine , coupe
Engines:
Petrol engines : 1.6–1.8 liters
(55–74 kW)
Length: 4260 mm
Width: 1580 mm
Height: 1430 mm
Wheelbase : 2470 mm
Empty weight : 1005 kg
successor 626

The Mazda 616 was a mid-range automobile and was built from 1970 to 1979 at Mazda's main plant in Hiroshima . In Japan, the 616 had the model name Capella , which also adorned the successor models, while these were sold on the export markets under the designation 626 .

With the models 1000/1300 , 1500/1800 , 616, 818 and 929, as well as the Wankel models RX-2 and RX-3 , Mazda extended its feelers to the export markets of Europe and the USA at the beginning of the 1970s. These efforts were initially hardly successful, as Japanese cars were considered exotic and had a difficult time, especially in countries with their own automobile production. Another obstacle to the sales success was that Japanese manufacturers at that time shaped the sheet metal clothing of their car models according to American style. While this passed as a tribute in the US , European car buyers didn't really want to make friends with the boldly curved lines and lavish chrome trim. Mazda met the difficult market environment with extensive equipment and low sales prices, but it took a few years for Mazda cars to establish themselves on the European market. The Mazda 616 has always remained an outsider on European roads; only the much more simply shaped successor model 626 was granted greater success.

The Mazda 616 was offered as a four-door sedan (sedan) and as a two-door coupé. Both had a water-cooled 1.6-liter reciprocating engine that developed 55 kW (75 hp) and powered the rear wheels via a four-speed or automatic transmission and a cardan shaft. A 1.8-liter engine with 74 kW (100 hp) could also be ordered for a short time; models with this engine were named Mazda 618 . Basically, the Wankel model RX-2 was also a motorized variant of the 616, especially since the RX-2 differed from the 616 mainly in some equipment details and of course the drive.

During its construction period, the Mazda 616 was repeatedly given facelifts, the most noticeable features of which are small changes to the external appearance. The rectangular broadband headlights of the first series were replaced by the round double headlights of the RX-2 as early as 1972, and the rear design has also been changed several times. From 1975 the body of the 616 was given a slightly longer and more distinctive front, which made the car appear more dynamic. The model was built in this form until 1979.

The Mazda 616 has long since disappeared from the everyday street scene; only a few specimens have been able to withstand the passage of time. The main reasons are high depreciation in the 1980s, low acceptance in the European classic car scene and the precarious spare parts supply.

Web links

Commons : Mazda 616  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • Joachim Kuch: Japanese automobiles - all passenger cars in Germany 1965-1990 , 1st edition, Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-613-01365-7
  • Original press and brochures from Mazda
  • Original workshop documents from Mazda