The V8 Challenger Is Dead. Long Live The Mitsuoka M55.

Its final days may be upon us, but those preparing the mourn the loss of the V8 Dodge Challenger may have a very unlikely saviour.

If you’re not familiar with Mitsuoka by now, shame on you for a start. The Japanese manufacturer (probably a stretch to describe them as such) has long been turning the country’s big-brand domestic cars into some truly strange creations. Just take a look at the Morgan-inspired, MX-5-based Himiko for a start.

Now, someone in the company seriously suggested using a Honda Civic to honour the Challenger, and better still, someone else approved it. Leading to the M55 Concept.

Technical details are non-existent for the M55, but it speaks for itself. The midriff of the car is evidently that of a Civic but the front and rear ends have been completely changed.

A boxy nose sees the addition of quad circular headlights and a grille that looks just different enough from the real thing to presumably skirt around any legal issues. The rear gets a black-out panel between the new taillights along with a ducktail spoiler and comical louvres on the rear window.

Interior changes are, seemingly, much more subtle - with the only obvious difference of note the replacing of a Honda badge with Mitsuoka branding and a set of hole-punched seats. It does clearly give away that this isn’t using an FL5 Type R as its base though, and instead a run-of-the-mill FL2 Civic.

In Japan, the regular Civic is only sold with a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder rather than the hybrid we get in Europe and the UK, making the M55 good for 177bhp with power sent to the front wheels through a six-speed manual.

No word yet on when the Mitsuoka M55 will be heading into production or even a remote idea of how many yen you’d need to part with, but we’ll be keeping a close eye out for more details.