Mitsuoka Himiko

Mitsuoka is best known for transforming existing cars into wannabe classic British-style rides, as well as its Orochi sports car, which is what happens after a Camry gets drunk and has a torrid one-night stand with a sea monster. The latest Mitsuoka effort, however, is an instant classic. It's called the Himiko, and it wants desperately to be a Morgan.

Appropriately, the source material for this fake British sports car is a Mazda MX-5, itself an homage to the classic British roadsters of old. Thus, how bad can it really be? And look, you can even get it with the retractable hardtop! It's as endearing as it is nutty.

© Source: autoblog
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Mitsuoka Galue 204

Mitsuoka, in addition to building the sea creature-like Orochi sports car, is best known for its quirky "regular" models, which are simply rebodied vehicles that are usually made to look like British classics. Today, the boutique automaker unveiled the Galue 204, which is based on the current Toyota Corolla Axio (sedan).

Mechanically, all the Corolla Axio options are available -- 1.5 or 1.8L engines, optional 4WD, etc. Visually, you get an "Old Luxury" face (watch out for marauding Audi R8s) and a rear that looks lifted right off a late-model Cadillac Fleetwood. It makes for an amusing automotive mash-up, and ultimately, a suitably eccentric novelty vehicle. This is one Corolla that certainly can't be accused of looking boring.

© Source: autoblog
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Mitsuoka's Mesmerizing Yet Mystifying Mustang

TOKYO — Mitsuoka is known best as a tuner of a variety of Nissan-based vehicles, which from a great distance and with a lot of imagination could be viewed as Jaguar look-alikes. Now the tuner's attention has turned to a rather different kind of donor: the Ford Mustang.

Underneath this bizarre-looking convertible — which puts one in mind of a 1960s-era Rolls-Royce in front and a 1980s Cadillac at the rear — lurks a bog-standard Ford Mustang. One look at the interior gives the game away, but it seems the Japanese master body builder has raised the level of kitsch several notches.

A top-spec Galue convertible is priced at the equivalent of $64,500. Mitsuoka is certified as a car manufacturer, so the price is for a turnkey model, ready to be driven.

© Source: article on insideline
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