So You Want a Challenger. But All You Can Afford is a Civic?
Mitsuoka M55 Concept Turns the Honda Civic into a Dodge Challenger!
Tiny Japanese specialist automaker Mitsuoka has done it again. Nippon’s most unusual carmaker is famous for grafting unexpected bodywork onto everyday Toyotas, Mazdas and the like. Now its latest Honda-based M55 effort is no exception. It’s basically a Civic dressed up as a Dodge Challenger!
Based on the current generation Honda Civic hatchback, the Mitsuoka M55 has unashamedly become a clone of the Dodge Challenger, which itself harks back to its 1970s muscle car predecessors. It’s only a concept for now, but there’s nothing to stop Mitsuoka from putting the M55 into production.
Dodgy Honda-based Mitsuoka M55 ‘Just a Concept’
While Mitsuoka may not be famous for concept cars, the M55 is clearly testing the waters. What do you think? Based on a regular Honda Civic 1.5-liter manual hatchback, Mitsuoka simply rips its familiar bodywork off and replaces that with Challenger-like panels. They actually cause you to look at least twice.
The M55 is most convincing from most angles. So much so that you may be fooled into believing that you’re actually looking at a Challenger from the front. Rear styling is a little more 1970s Japanese coupé-like, and there’s even a subtle remake inside. With retro-look seats, upgraded climate vents and more.
M55 Latest in a Line of Cheeky Mitsuoka Remakes
A tiny company in Toyama City, 250 miles from Tokyo, Mitsuoka has been in business for 50 years and employs only 80 people. Originally a specialist European car service, Mitsuoka manager Minoru Watanabe created the Rock Star, a Mazda MX-5 dressed up to look like a ‘60s Corvette. The trend stuck and the company has since steadfastly stuck by its reputation.
Enough for Mitsuoka to move on to the likes of its Jaguar Mk II-look Nissan sedan View, and a RAV4 made to look like a Chevy Blazer going by the name of Buddy. Each so-called Mitsuoka neoclassic car is hand-assembled by two craftsmen over a period of as long as two months.
A Bit of Fun in the Drab World of Motoring
The company’s creations are not even that expensive. A Mitsuoka RAV4 Buddy will set you back all of $45,000, even if there’s a two year wait for it. The Rock Star never really carried a premium over a standard Mazda, either.
Principally sold on the Japanese home market, Mitsuoka’s contraptions do have a tendency to crop up in the West as grey imports. Iit even has dealers in Monaco and the UK. Said to ‘to recapture the hot magma of the 1970s, Mitsuoka insists that it has no plans to the M55 into production. Unlikely as that seems.
Whatever Mitsuoka ultimately does with the M55, it certainly is a bit of fun poked at an often drab motoring world. So here’s to a few of these Honda Challengers actually finding their way onto the road…
Photos: Mitsuoka
Join the Dodge Forums now!
