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

Red convertible car parked on a tiled patio with two people walking in the background and potted plants nearby.

Mitsuoka Motors

Mitsuoka, the Japanese manufacturer that rebodies Toyotas, Mazdas, and Hondas, is back with a new creation.
The Mitsuoka LA1 appears to be a modern Mazda Miata with a body kit inspired by the first-generation Corvette.
The LA1’s full reveal hasn’t occurred yet, so full details and specs won’t become available until November 26.

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.

A black and white sports car parked outside a building with two people conversing in the background during sunset.

Mitsuoka Motors

A vintage convertible parked by the seaside with two people enjoying the view in the background.

Mitsuoka Motors

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. The brand also took a Civic hatchback and gave it a ’70s Dodge Charger shape back in 2023. Called the M55, that Civic-Charger hybrid was just a concept, but as far as we can tell, the LA1 is bound for production.

Classic convertible sports car driving on a scenic forest road.

Mitsuoka Motors

The full reveal is scheduled for November 26, which should shed some light on the LA1’s donor car, as well as some performance specs. Pricing should be announced around the same time, but we should note that while they aren’t that expensive, Mitsuoka’s projects normally have months-long (if not years) waitlists.