The Mistuoka Orochi is a car that's been absolutely beaten to a bloody pulp in forums and message boards across the internet and even on this very website. Some call it ugly, others call for them all to be crushed. That said, six years after it left the production, the Orochi is starting to make an unexpected comeback.
Could it be a new post-ironic generation gassing it up as the go-to car for the proud weirdo? Or maybe something more complicated than that? Either way, the fact this car is still talked about today means it at least made an impact, as polarizing as it was. Turn up your Hatsune Miku mp3, pop in your favorite shonen anime, and get comfy as we take a deep dive into this bizarre-looking Japanese sports car.
Updated August 2022: It doesn't get more bizarre yet photogenic than the Mitsuoka Orochi. We have updated this article about the weird Japanese sports car that started off as an eye-sore but is not a sensation in the car community.
Not Mitsubishi, It's Mitsuoka.
Mitsuoka is one of those Japanese brands that never bothered trying to sell cars overseas. That said, they never intended to. Mitsuoka makes cars for people with unconventional tastes in style, for the person who says "no" emphatically when given status quo choices from other sports carmakers. This philosophy is the genesis of the Orochi, and there's a lot more to that story to boot.
Underpinnings Of The Honda NSX
It's not uncommon to take an existing sports car, give it a fresh change of clothes and slap a different badge on the front grille. Thankfully, the Orochi is derived from one of the all-time Japanese sports car greats. The Orochi is named for a mythical Japanese dragon. debuted as a concept at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show with the same internals as the iconic Honda NSX.
The response wasn't as ghastly as other "ugly" cars like the Pontiac Aztek, but to say it was polarizing was an understatement for the record books. Interestingly, thoughts on the Orochi were largely divided down national lines. Japanese journalists applauded the car's bold and unorthodox styling.
And we think Jeremy Clarkson's quote sighting an old European artist Francis Bacon in his Alfa Romeo 8C review on Top Gear is fitting here. " There is no beauty that hath not some strangeness in its proportions." Bacon didn't know it, but centuries ago, he came up with the perfect metaphor to describe this quirky Japanese sports car.
A Sports Car For Weeaboos
Just in case you're not a millennial, a "Weeaboo" or "Weeb" for short is a derogatory term in Japanese culture to describe a westerner who obsesses with stereotypically Japanese things like Manga, Anime, and J-Pop. In the western world, it's come full circle and is almost a term of endearment if you're into Manga or Anime.
If you're the kind of person who loves Japanese Kawaii (Japanese for cute or adorable) design, the Orochi is the sports car for you. In an era where most manufacturers default to aggressive and angry-looking designs with their sports cars, Mitsuoka should at least be given credit for trying to make something that looked strikingly different from the average car.
The headlights almost give off the vibe of a first-gen Mazda MX-5. The small and narrow front grill spits in the face of trends gravitating towards large and obnoxious Rolls-Royce knockoffs on the front clip of every new car (We're looking at you, Genesis G90).
Gradual Improvement For This Fish
If you need more convincing the Orochi is a car for weebs, one of their special edition Orochi's has the same name as a Naruto character. We're sure that was probably just a coincidence, but as coincidences go, that's a funny one. Jokes aside, the Kabuto takes the standard Orochi and essentially makes it murdered out.
With black wheels and a light coating of grey paint over exposed carbon fiber takes this meme on four wheels and turns it into a striking and eye-catching street machine. The 3.3-liter mid-mounted Toyota engine may not get you going very fast, but we're sure an LS swap would easily take care of that problem. Even so, this is a car to have gawked at more than driven in the first place.
A Legit Eyecatcher
The Mitsuoka Orochi and its variants are some of the most bullied cars on the internet. It's our hope that this deep dive into the history of the car and the company that built it changes your mind before you start accosting it. Truth be told, we'd go so far as to say the car looks better than some sports cars on sale today. We could go on about our gripes with how angry styling's taken over car design, but that's a rant for another day, stay tuned.
Owning A Mitsuoka Orochi In The US
The Orochi was never sold outside of Japan and that makes it an extremely rare car to stumble upon. But some very deep-pocketed individuals did manage to bring these fish-inspired creations outside of Japan. And one such specimen has also ended up on Cars and Classic UK for an asking price of £75,000 (~$90,000).
If someone is willing, this car can be bought and shipped over. And if this seems like a lot of work, there are a bunch of Orochis for sale on Tv-c that will take care of all the hassles of transporting this Japanese boldness straight to you.
Sources: Mitsuoka Motor, Cars and Classic