Recently, mitsuoka announced that it will build 10 Himiko models for 2024. The second generation Himiko is based on the fourth generation Mazda MX-5 Miata and has been was first introduced in 2018, so it’s not completely new. But admittedly, since then, we completely forgot that it existed. It’s a low-volume car, we’d like to think it’s an understandable oversight, but if any automotive site should keep a close eye on Mitsuoka, it’s the Jalopnik.
Looking at Himiko, it’s hard to ignore many of the Morgan features in the design, but at the same time, the Miata is surprisingly well integrated. And that says a lot as Himiko is 26 inches longer than the Miata it’s based on. We’re not saying it’s gorgeous, but it could and should probably be a lot worse.
The illusion that you’re looking at anything other than the Miata quickly dissipates the moment you glimpse the near-original interior, but if you’re one of those “I wish modern cars still looked like antiques,” Himiko is probably right up your alley. We could pick up minor issues like some weird proportions we wanted, but they got the idea and executed it better than you’d expect if you heard someone made a Miata over two feet long and then added a Morgan body.
That’s really where the problem lies. We don’t want “better than expected” or “nearly working”. We want weird. We want WTF. We wanted something no one would have thought of trying. Alike best friend Mitsuokawhich if you don’t know, it’s a modified Toyota RAV4 to look like a K5 Blazer. Or Galue, a Bentley almost based on the Nissan Altima’s cousin in the Japanese market, the Teana. Those are the proper Mitsuoka.
On the other hand, Himiko looks almost like a real car, it doesn’t look like a real Mitsuoka. Where Orochi spirit? A Mazda-based Himiko might be more reliable in the long run, but we’ll get a real Morgan instead, thank you very much.
