This Honda Civic Wants To Be A Dodge Challenger So Badly

A reskinning of the 11th-gen Honda Civic hatch that's good enough for a double-take?

Renowned for eccentric,  bizarre and polarising builds based on mainstream models, Mitsuoka is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. However, the firm has persevered for just a little over five decades now, and their latest creation is equally as divisive as it is weirdly cool.

Christened as the Mitsuoka M55 Concept, the project was meant to mark Mitsuoka’s 55th anniversary. According to the firm, the design draws heavy inspiration from classic American muscle cars, specifically ones from its ‘golden age’ that is the 1970s.

Examples of the 11th-gen (FL1) Honda Civic hatch that the Mitsuoka M55 Concept is based on. By the way, you can view these cars listed on our site now by clicking here and here.

A clearer comparo of the M55 concept (top) and the FL1 Civic hatch (bottom) it started out from.

Look past the PR fluff and, plainly, the M55 Concept is essentially an 11th-generation Honda Civic hatchback (specifically, the FL1) that’s been reskinned with the looks of the latest outgoing generation of the Dodge Challenger. Depending on how you see it, you either love or hate the M55 Concept.

Sure, Honda’s current-gen five-door hatch isn’t the ideal canvas for such as transformation, but Mitsuoka’s design team certainly did their best at implementing the visual modifications and bring it to life as pictured. From the front at least, you could almost fool anyone – us included.

The front-end's rework is almost - ALMOST - convincing to say the least.

The rear-end's redux isn't as convincing as the front's, but the amount of work done here is exceptionally high - it doesn't look like the Civic base car at all!

That’s because the Challenger’s distinct quad round headlights, grille, bumper, and hood elements were grafted almost perfectly. At the rear, the Civic hatch’s fastback styling has been reduxed with a classic Mustang-inspired louvres above the glass that leads down to an integrated rear spoiler.

Whilst on the rear-end still, the custom work also entails to this Civic hatch gaining new taillights, redesigned hatch that now looks more like a tailgate, as well as a new rear bumper. Apart from the rear glass louvres, the Challenger-esque grafting here is almost flawless as the front’s.

Mitsuoka says the M55 Concept draws heavy inspiration from 1970 American muscle cars, thus explaining the classic Mustang-derived rear window louvres.

The Civic hatch base car’s silhouette remains clear in the side profile, namely with its roofline, windowline, and doors. Mitsuoka did add a dash of American flair here, evident through the sportier alloy wheels the M55 Concept rolls on shod in tyres dressed with painted lettering.

Whilst the exterior appears wild, the cabin doesn’t any sort of extreme restyling. The only exceptions here are the retro-styled blue leather upholstery covering the seats, as well as the Mitsuoka badge on the steering wheel which, unlike the exterior, appears like an after-thought in execution.

Though not 'classic' in looks, the aftermarket wheel swap shod in tyres with painted-on lettering does look the part here.

And despite the muscular exterior transformation, the Mitsuoka M55 Concept doesn’t have an equally muscular American V8 swap under the hood. Instead, the base Civic hatch’s familiar 1.5-litre VTEC Turbo mill with 180 HP remains, as does its front-wheel-drive (FWD) setup.

The only good news we have about the powertrain in this concept is that it features a 6-speed manual transmission instead of the CVT automatic alternative Honda typical offers this Civic with. At least whoever is driving this Dodge Challenger-skinned special will get the fun of rowing their own gears.

On board, the Mitsuoka M55 Concept sees the base Civic hatch's innards left largely unchanged.

Apart from the steering wheel's badge, Mitsuoka also re-wrapped the seats on board with retro-styled blue leather upholstery.

Lastly, there’s bad news for hardcore Dodge Challenger fans who also happen to own a Civic hatch with the thought of getting a kit out of this concept – there is none. In fact, Mitsuoka intends to keep this concept as a one-off for now, and will put it on show at its flagship showroom in Tokyo later this month.

Well, what do you folks think of this radical concept Mitsuoka commissioned for its 55th anniversary? If it does enter some sort of production, would you prefer this over the marque’s more recent ‘fancy’ redux of the latest-gen (ND) Mazda MX-5 roadster? As always, hit the comments below with your take on it…