You may remember Japanese manufacturer Mitsuoka used to offer a Morgan-like vehicle based on an older Mazda MX-5 - its replacement ditches the Morgan theme for a classic Corvette Stingray theme and applies it to the latest Miata (which is also the best one in the series).

Called Mitsuoka Rock Star, it looks nothing like the Mazda that underpins it, from the outside. Its design owes everything to the Corvette C2, and were it not for those small, circular headlights (which look somewhat out of place), it is an ode to the original design’s greatness.

The interior is identical to that of the donor car - all they did, by the looks of it, was replace the Mazda logo on the steering wheel airbag cover with their own.

Mitsuoka will sell you the Rock Star with either of the two engines on offer in Japan (a 1.5-liter or a 2.0-liter) and on the larger of the two you can also specify an optional automatic gearbox. Performance should be on par with the Miata, but we don’t know if it’s any heavier than the donor.

But what they should really be offering is this same vehicle, but with a V8 swap, something like what Flying Miatas is doing - that would really complete the package.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2016 Mazda MX-5.

Read our full review on the 1963-1968 Chevrolet Corvette.

Read our full review on the 2014 Mitsuoka Orochi Final Edition.