After a more muscular MX-5? The Abarth 124 is no longer the only option…
What do you make of this, then? Mitsuoka, the Japanese coachbuilder infamous for its bizarre creations has struck again, announcing the MX-5-based ‘Rock Star’.
As you can see, the aesthetic is very much Corvette C2 inspired. The rear end particularly so, but the wings and bonnet also hark back to the American classic, while the front adds some buggy little headlights into the mix which really throw the whole design off – try covering them up and see how much better it looks…
Inside and underneath it’s all still ND MX-5. Not even the more muscular 2.0-litre version that we so enjoy, but the 130hp 1.5-litre. Nothing wrong with that motor in the diminutive roadster, of course, but in something as aggressively styled as the Rock Star, it does seem a tad underwhelming. Mazda’s fantastic six-speed manual is still standard, though, which is some consolation.
The price for all this is £31,000 before options, which include things like an automatic gearbox, which seems like a lot until you remember that this isn’t the first time that Mitsuoka has used an MX-5 as the base for a retro-inspired rebody. Back in 2015 it released the £53,800 Roadster to a similar reception. It’s still going though – which can’t be said of many, more conventional, automotive ateliers – a testament to the fact that its designs seemingly do have appeal to enough people to form a profitable market. And if this isn’t to your taste? Well, there are even PHers having a go at turning their very own visions into reality.
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