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Mitsuoka LA1 Is a Miata-Based Miniature C1 Corvette You Can Drive

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Mitsuoka LA1 Is a Miata-Based Miniature C1 Corvette You Can Drive

The tiny manufacturer is back at it, turning yet another Japanese coupe into a C1 Corvette-inspired roadster.

Looks can be deceiving. At first glance, you might think you’re looking at a well-maintained—if oddly clad—C1 Corvette from the mid-1950s. Upon closer inspection, you’d likely realize that the car you’re looking at is much too small to be a first-generation Corvette. What you’re actually seeing is the Mitsuoka LA1, the newest creation from Japan’s most fun automaker.

Mitsuoka has built a reputation on putting custom bodies on Hondas, Toyotas, and Mazdas, and this new model seems to follow the same trend. While the brand hasn’t yet released full specs, the LA1 appears to be based on a modern Mazda Miata. It’s not a carbon copy of the C1, but rather a tasteful blend of the classic American sports car’s shape with the Miata’s more modern lines. The LA1 moves to quad headlights, doubling the original figure, and it gets a busier front-end design that adds chrome bumpers to complete the look. Assuming that the LA1 retains the Miata’s excellent driving dynamics, there’s every chance the LA1 is an even more enjoyable car to pilot than the car that inspired it.

This isn’t the first Japanese car that Mitsuoka gave an iconic American silhouette. Hell, it isn’t even the first Corvette replica from the brand. Before the LA1, there was the Rock Star, a C2-dupe that, wouldn’t you know it, was also built on a Miata. Then there’s the Buddy, a Toyota RAV4 dressed up in a K5 Blazer-shaped Halloween costume, which it purchased for the low price of around $45,000, we might add.


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