Mitsuoka Orochi

After first appearing as a concept car in 2001, the serpent has returned and hitted the streets.






The mid-engined scorcher has came on sales in Japan already and the company only made just 400 of them, making it as rare as formidable machines like the Ferrari Enzo. There’s little doubt that the Orochi will turn a few heads when it hits the streets, with styling features such as a rippled bonnet, sweeping roofline, pumped-up wheelarches and a very unusual grille. It’s a lot bigger than its sleek demeanor suggests and will certainly make the next Honda NSX - expected next year - look slim by comparison, being more than 200mm wider than this rival.



Unlike previous Mitsuoka creations, the Orochi is a bespoke design and has its own platform. In the past, Mitsuoka cars tended to be replicas of old sports cars with Hondas and Nissans as their basis. Inside, the Orochi is expected to get leather seats, sat-nav and air-con (duh!). As for power, that comes in the form of a 3.3-litre V6 which develops 223bhp and 242lb ft of torque, so it’s hardly going to rock the supercar world. A convertible version has also been shown, although it isn’t clear if that car, called the Nude, will make it into production. The Orochi is tagged at approx. 8,000,000 Yen.