This 1950s Corvette Is Actually A Brand-New Mazda Miata Underneath

The Miata is officially going full American. No, Mazda hasn't suddenly decided to build a Corvette rival, although how cool would that be? Instead, Mitsuoka has done what Mitsuoka does best: taken a perfectly good Japanese car and given it an identity crisis. Although details are still under wraps, these fresh official images confirm our hunch of a hybrid between an MX-5 and a C1.

It appears to be based on the ND generation but looks like someone put an OG Corvette in the dryer and shrank it. And somehow, it kinda works. Well, as long as you have a soft spot for Mitsuoka’s quirky projects. Love it or loathe it, the resemblance is impossible to miss. The rounded front end, quad headlights, prominent fenders, chrome-style detailing, and sweeping bodywork all scream 1950s Americana.

And unlike an actual Corvette C1, you won't have to worry about driving something with the structural integrity of a biscuit. Mitsuoka hasn't released any technical details yet about what it calls the "LA1," but the underlying Miata formula likely remains: front engine, rear-wheel drive, two seats, and a focus on lightweight fun rather than outrageous power.

It's Not Chasing Corvettes

This clearly isn't Mitsuoka's attempt to build a Corvette competitor. There is (probably) no giant V8 hiding under that long-looking hood. There probably isn't enough room for one anyway without major changes,
although with some engineering wizardry, Flyin’ Miata has proved it does fit. Instead, you're getting the mechanical simplicity of a Miata wrapped in the visual drama of a classic American sports car.

This thing is about looking cool while driving something small, light, and relatively uncomplicated. If you're wondering who would actually buy this, remember that Mitsuoka has been doing this sort of thing for decades. The company specializes in taking mainstream Japanese cars and turning them into something that looks like it came from an entirely different automotive universe.

Case in point, this isn’t Mitsuoka’s first rodeo with the Miata. Just three years ago, the Himiko made headlines with a design I described at the time as what happens when a Morgan Aero 8 and a Jaguar XK120 have a wild night together. Only 10 were ever built, with customers paying the equivalent of around $49,000 each. Before that, there was even another Corvette lookalike, the C2-esque Rock Star.

Mitsuoka will fully reveal its next Japanese-American contraption on November 26, then open the order books a day later.