Mitsuoka

Mitsuoka Motor (光岡自動車) is a small Japanese automobile company. It is noted for building unique cars with unconventional styling, some of which are modern while others imitate the look of American, European and particularly British retro cars of the 1950s and 1960s.[1] It is primarily a custom design coachbuilder, taking production cars, like the Nissan March, and replacing various aspects of the bodywork with its own customizations. It has also produced a sports car, the Orochi. Mitsuoka Motors is also the principal distributor of retro-classic TD2000 roadster in Japan. Mitsuoka was recognised in 1996 as the 10th Japanese auto manufacturer to be registered in Japan since Honda in 1963. It bases its current cars on Nissans and other Japanese car manufacturers. Mitsuoka Motor launched in the UK in 2015 under sole distribution of T W White & Sons and launched the Mitsuoka Roadster (Himiko) at the London Motor Show in 2016.[2]

This article is about the company. For other uses, see Mitsuoka (disambiguation).
Mitsuoka Motor Co., Ltd.
Public company
IndustryAutomobile manufacturing
FoundedFebruary 1, 1968
Headquarters508-3, Kakeomachi, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Key people
Akio Mitsuoka, (Representative Director and President)
ProductsAutomobiles, Luxury vehicles
Revenue227,000,000 JPY
29,700,000,000 JPY
Number of employees
580 (As of March, 2008)
Websitewww.mitsuoka-motor.com

Models
Mitsuoka Le-Seyde first generation (1990-1993)
2005 Mitsuoka Orochi Nude-Top Roadster

Current lineup
  • 1996–present Galue
  • 2008–present Himiko
  • 2014–present Ryugi (based on the Toyota Corolla Axio and Toyota Corolla Fielder)
  • 1993–present Viewt
  • 2010–present Like-T3
  • 2018–present Rock Star (C2 Corvette inspiration based on the Mazda MX-5)

Past vehicles
Second generation Ryoga
Second generation Galue
  • 1982 BUBU 50 Series (a series of three-wheeled microcars)[3]
  • 1989-1990 BUBU 356 Speedstar[4] (a replica of the Porsche 356 Speedster)
  • 1987 BUBU Classic SSK (replica of the Mercedes-Benz SSK roadster based on the Volkswagen Beetle)
  • 2008-2012 Galue 204 (based on the Toyota Corolla Axio)
  • 2010-2012 Galue Classic
  • 1991 Dore (similar to the Le-Seyde, based on the Ford Mustang)
  • 1990, 2000 Le-Seyde (a Nissan Silvia-based coupé inspired by Zimmer)
  • 2010-2012 Like (based on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV)
  • 1998-2007 Mitsuoka Microcar
    • 1998-2007 Microcar K-1/MC-1
      • 1999-2007 MC-1T
    • 1998-? Microcar K-2 (based on the design of the FMR Tg500)
    • 2005-? Microcar K-3/Type F (design similar to the Zero1)
    • 2006-? Microcar K-4/Type R[5] (styling reminiscent of 1950s race cars)
    • 1999-2007 ME-1
    • 2002-2007 ME-2 (Convoy 88)
  • 2004-2012 Nouera (based on the Honda Accord and later the Toyota Corolla)
  • 2007-2014 Orochi (based on the Honda NSX)
  • 1996-2004 Ray (styling similar to the Riley Elf Mk.3, based on the Mazda Carol and later the Daihatsu Mira Gino)
  • 1998-2004 Ryoga a "classically" styled sedan originally based on the Primera and later on the smaller Sunny
  • 1996-2000 Type F (a restyled Zero1)
  • 2000-2001 Yuga (a London Taxi replica based on the Nissan Cube)
  • 1994-2000 Zero1[6] (a Lotus Super Seven replica with Eunos Roadster drivetrain)

References
  1. Hiroko Tashiro; Ian Rowley (208). "In Japan, a Car Apart from the Pack". Bloomberg Business Week website. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  2. Watanabe (1 June 2015). "Announcement, on opening the First Dealership in Europe. Launching Himiko in the UK market" (PDF). www.mitsuoka-motor.com. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  3. "BUBU50 Series". Mitsuoka-motor.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  4. "BUBU356 Speedstar". Mitsuoka-motor.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  5. "Mitsuoka Microcar K-4". Mitsuoka-mc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  6. "Mitsuoka Zero1". Mitsuoka-motor.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.

Media related to Mitsuoka Motor at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.