Mitsuoka Turns the ND Miata Into an Adorable Little C2 Corvette
Mitsuoka, the strange Japanese coachbuilder that turns modern econoboxes into some sort of strange replica of classic British cars has turned its eye to something a little more American.
Under the skin, the Rock Star is an ND Mazda MX-5. That’s the latest version of the compact roadster. On the outside, it’s a second-generation Corvette. Sort of.
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Best Mazda MX-5 Miata Models of All Time
Mitsuoka has replaced every panel of the MX-5, except for maybe the doors and the windshield. It has most of the bulges and chrome that made the C2 ‘Vette cool, though the look isn’t quite 100 percent Vette. And instead of flip-up headlights, they’ve mounted projector units below the crease of the hood.
As far as offerings from Mitsuoka go, it’s not that bad. As far as C2 replicas go, well… We’ll leave that one to you. But we kinda like it.
SEE ALSO: 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata Review
The Rock Star will be offered in American-themed colors. like LA Blue, Chicago Red, Cisco Orange, and a few more. Underneath, it’s stock MX-5.
It’s being built to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary. And that’s a remarkably long time to be building cars that look like this one. It’s actually the third 50th special they’ve launched this year. They’ve also turned the Miata into some sort of franken-Jag XK120 and built the Devilman Orochi, a modified version of the Orochi you might remember from Top Gear about 10 years ago.
Starting price for the Rock Star is around $41,000. And quite frankly that seems like a deal for something that gets this many changes over the car under the shell.
A version of this story originally appeared on GM Inside News.
Evan moved from engineering to automotive journalism 10 years ago (it turns out cars are more interesting than fibreglass pipes), but has been following the auto industry for his entire life. Evan is an award-winning automotive writer and photographer and is the current President of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. You'll find him behind his keyboard, behind the wheel, or complaining that tiny sports cars are too small for his XXXL frame.
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