Mitsuoka creates wild Mazda MX-5-based Corvette

Japanese car modifier Mitsuoka has revealed an incredible new styling kit for the Mazda MX-5 that transforms the pint-sized roadster into a classic Corvette.

Created to make the current MX-5 look like a dead ringer for the C2 Corvette Stingray, that was made from 1963-1967, the rebodied convertible has appropriately been named the 'Rock Star'.

Claimed to share almost identical proportions to the original, only the doors and windscreen remain from the transition from MX-5 to Rock Star. Oh, and the 5.3-litre (327 cubic-inch) V8 of the Corvette is replaced by a hearty 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine worth 97kW and 152Nm.

As the old saying goes, it's not what you got, but how you use it!

Although the mechanicals are unchanged, the re-clothing of the small Mazda involves far more than a stick-on body kit.

From its shark-nose front-end, curvaceous front and rear fenders and shapely rear-end, many will never guess that modern guts lie beneath this perfect slice of Americana, although inside, the MX-5's interior transplants over almost entirely unchanged, aside from a pair of retrimmed seats.

That's both good and bad – it means you have all the modern conveniences (and safety measures) of the regular roadster but without any of the period charm chrome and leather of the original.

The Mitsuoka Corvette homage is a convincing compromise, but if you fancy a modern homage to the Stingray that doesn't overheat in traffic, expect to be stung where it hurts, in the pocket.

Mitsuoka has priced its Rock Star in Japan from 4,688,200 yen -- around $A60,000 in our money. That's considerably more than the $A34,190 Mazda charges for the base MX-5 Down Under.