THE MITSUOKA ROADSTER IS COMING TO THE UK AND NOT TO THE US, REST EASY
We thought just about everyone was happy with the looks of the new Mazda MX-5 Miata, but niche Japanese coachhuilder Mitsuoka will offer a car to those who wish the new Miata looked a little more like a Morgan Aero 8.
The Japanese tuner and coachbuilder has made a name for itself answering questions that few thought about asking, such as: "What would a Nissan March compact sedan look like with a classic Jaguar S-Type front fascia?" The answer isn't as scary as one may first think, though the company's other efforts have been met with a little more skepticism among fans of retro cars -- the Nissan Cedric and Toyota Corolla whose entire front fascias were turned into something aping a Rolls-Royce certainly comes to mind.
The Miata-based Mitsuoka Roadster will see more modifications than simply a new front end, however: the wheelbase has been stretched at the front to accomodate the new, longer hood. The general inspiration for this creation is of course the Morgan Aero 8, with Mitsuoka adopting the design of its front fenders, headlights and a fender line which has been grafted on to the sides of the Miata. The roadster's rear has been redesigned as well, with rounded clamshell tail also inspired by the Morgan.
The Roadster will keep the 2-liter Miata engine and gearbox options but not its handling, which will have changed dramatically due to the longer wheelbase and the weight of all of these additions.
AutoExpress reports that the roadster will go on sale this month at a starting price of $53,800, which works out to approximately $82,400. Needless to say, this is well north of the price of an actual Morgan versus something else trying to look like one, and will present a further dilemma to those also considering just buying Miatas for the whole family.
This actually won't be the first time that Mitsuoka has turned the Miata into a Morgan-styled roadster: The company built 20 examples of such a roadster based on the previous-generation Miata back in 2010.
This is one of those rare times when we're thankful that a foreign car cannot be privately imported to the U.S. We like real Miatas and real Morgans just as they are.
