This era of human history is a special time. The world is united in celebration over the debut of the 2016 Mazda Miata, which is really really good. But maybe you don’t want a lightweight and thoroughly modern roadster. Maybe you want a neo-Baroque Morgan knockoff with Mini Cooper headlamps. Mitsuoka has got you covered!
Right now you might be saying, “Wait, Mitsuoka is a still a thing?” I know this because your humble Jalopnik staff had the same reaction. While the Mitsuoka Orochi has been sent to the afterlife, the Japanese customizer lives on adding “powerful yet dignified” style to lesser cars.
One of those is the Roadster, known as the Himiko in Japan, which is now on sale in the United Kingdom. The car will be sold in T W White & Sons showrooms. Sorry, fellow Americans. No Mitsuokas for us.
Mitsuoka’s Roadster is based on the outgoing NC Miata, not the all-new one. That’s good for people who aren’t fans of sunshine, because the Roadster uses the old Miata’s Power Retractable Hard Top, or PRHT. Lots more acronyms here as well:
Luxury heated leather seats are standard - as is automatic climate control air conditioning. Safety and security is at the forefront of the Roadsters design - four wheel anti-lock brake system (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Traction Control System (TCS) are all naturally standard, as are the front and side airbags and the Supplementary Restraint System (SRS).
So much luxury! All of it can be had for the low, low price of £53,800, or about $82,000. Why buy the 2016 Miata when you can buy this instead?
Contact the author at patrick@jalopnik.com.