Mazda Carol 360 Deluxe
Mazda squeezed a water-cooled four-cylinder engine, four seats and independent suspension into a car less than three metres long. The Carol's upright rear roof—nicknamed the “cliff cut”—made room for passengers even though the car fit Japan's tiny kei class.
Mazda Carol 360 (KPDA) left.jpg · Tokumeigakarinoaoshima · CC BY-SA 4.0
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More than a set of wheels.
The Carol 360 arrived on February 23, 1962, and the better-equipped two-door Deluxe followed in May. Its 358 cc aluminum four-cylinder was unusually sophisticated for a kei car, and each wheel had its own trailing-arm suspension with rubber torsion springs. Mazda added a four-door body and raised output from 18 to 20 PS in September 1963, so those later facts must not be folded into this 1962 Deluxe profile.
Look a little closer.
Mazda chose “Carol” because the word suggested a joyful song, while the squared-off rear roof earned the visual nickname “cliff cut.”
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
The cliff cut was useful, not just unusual
A rounded roof would have taken away headroom as it curved toward the rear. The Carol's near-vertical rear roof kept more space above the back seat, helping Mazda claim room for four adults inside a body only 2,980 mm long.
Source: Mazda Great Cars — Carol 360 ↗A miniature four-cylinder lesson
Most very small cars try to save cost and weight with fewer cylinders. Mazda instead used four tiny cylinders, an aluminum block and water cooling. The engineering gave the Carol a refined character, but it also made the power unit more complex than a simpler two-cylinder design.
Source: JSAE — Mazda Carol 360 (KPDA) ↗Where these facts come from
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed 2026-10-01.