It's perfectly okay to admit your guilty pleasures when it comes to weird vehicles. We all have a soft spot for at least one car our brain tells us we should just ignore. Although common sense would be not to like the Mitsuoka M55, we're strangely attracted to the retro muscle car styling of this Honda. Yes, it’s a plain Civic underneath the Dodge Challenger-esque exterior. It started as a concept but now you can buy one by taking a trip to Japan.
The Japanese coachbuilder showed the M55 a year ago to celebrate its 55th anniversary. At the beginning of this year, Mitsuoka announced plans to put the car into production. Fast forward to November, and it’s now taking orders for the M55 Zero Edition. Only 100 cars will be delivered in 2025 at 8,085,000 yen a pop. At current exchange rates, that works out to approximately $52,200.
The styling may say four-door Challenger but the custom car is all show without any extra go. The M55 sticks to a turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline engine with 180 horsepower and 177 pound-feet (240 Newton-meters) of torque. The faux muscle car sends its Honda power to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, so it’s all standard Civic affair. Further down the line, Mitsuoka says it might offer the car with a CVT and even a hybrid powertrain.
Mitsuoka is taking 350 requests until January 19, 2025, when the order books are set to close. The car can’t be ordered online or through a phone call as it’s only available at dealers across Japan. To take part in the lottery and claim one of the 100 vehicles planned for production, customers must pay a 550,000 yen ($3,500) application fee. Don’t worry–you’ll get your money back if you don’t win the lottery.
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