Niche Japanese manufacturer Mitsuoka has published first official images of the LA1, a new two-seat roadster that repackages the Mazda MX-5 — sold as the Roadster in its home market — with styling borrowed from the first-generation Chevrolet Corvette of the 1950s. The full debut is scheduled for November 26, and customer orders will be accepted from the following day.
Mitsuoka has not officially named its donor car, but the MX-5 underpinnings are unmistakable. Compared with the original Mazda, the LA1 gets a bespoke nose and tail, thick chrome trim across both bumpers, paired round headlamps and its own rear lamps. The interior has yet to be shown, and drastic changes are considered unlikely — at most a different set of decor elements.
Mechanically, the car should carry over everything from the Mazda. In Japan the Roadster is offered with a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter Skyactiv-G making 136 hp, paired with a six-speed manual or automatic, while the folding-hardtop Roadster RF uses a 182-hp 2.0-liter version. LA1 dimensions remain unpublished; the donor measures 3,915 mm in length with a 2,310-mm wheelbase.
It is not Mitsuoka's first Corvette-flavored take on Mazda's roadster — in 2018 the company showed the Rock Star, styled after the 1960s Corvette Sting Ray. The firm's small-batch retro conversions, such as the RAV4-based Buddy crossover and the Civic-based M55 hatch, remain in demand at home, prompting repeat production runs as the lineup keeps growing.