Mitsuoka, the small Japanese coachbuilder famed for recasting ordinary donor cars into retro curiosities, has let its next project's design slip out early. The LA1 is a two-seat roadster that grafts the styling language of the first-generation Chevrolet Corvette onto the chassis and rear-drive running gear of the Mazda MX-5 ND, and the company has scheduled its formal unveiling for 26 November 2026.
The nose draws directly on the 1958 Corvette C1, matching four round headlamps with a chrome bumper set above a wide grille and a large intake. A character line and side gills carry the vintage American flavor along the flanks, where newly made chrome-trimmed skirts and reshaped rear arches lead into a stretched tail. Doors, the windscreen frame, and the folding soft top, by contrast, are carried over from the donor MX-5, while the rear end recalls pre-1961 C1s with quarter-panel taillights, plenty of brightwork, a classic-style bumper, and a reworked trunk lid bearing Mitsuoka lettering.
The recipe is familiar territory for the company: its 2018 Rock Star wrapped Corvette C2-inspired bodywork around the same ND-generation MX-5, and Takanori Aoki, the designer behind that car, has also penned the LA1's sketches. Engine, performance figures, pricing, and production volume will only be confirmed close to launch, though the car is expected to be a limited-run offering sold solely in Japan, in line with everything else Mitsuoka builds.