Mitsuoka Viewt
Encyclopedia
Mitsuoka
is a small Japanese automobile company. They are noted for building cars with unconventional styling, some of which imitate British vehicles of the 1950s and 1960s. It is primarily a coachbuilder, taking production cars like the Nissan March and replacing the bodywork with its own custom designs...
Viewt is a modification of the Nissan March
Nissan March
The Nissan Micra, known in Latin America and in most of Asia as the Nissan and in North America as the Nissan Versa , is a supermini produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 1982.-Micra K10:...
/Micra, intended to resemble the Jaguar Mark 2
Jaguar Mark 2
The Jaguar Mark 2 is a medium sized saloon car built from 1959 to 1967 by the Jaguar company in Coventry, England, as successors to the Jaguar 2.4 and 3.4 models, manufactured between 1957 and 1959...
. It, along with Mitsuoka's later Galue
Mitsuoka Galue
The Mitsuoka Galue is a name used on two series of cars, which are based on more conventional Japanese and American cars. Both series are available as of February 2008.- First series :...
, encouraged larger Japanese manufacturers to produce retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
-styled versions of their own cars.
The K11 Viewt
The first Viewt, introduced in January 1993, was produced on the basis of the K11 March. The March's hatchback was replaced by a fixed rear window and rounded boot, and the front grille and headlamp assembly was replaced by one closely resembling that of the Jaguar Mark II. In standard form the interior was much the same as the March's, but leather seats and wood trim could be added at extra cost.The Viewt shared its 1.0- and 1.3-litre engines with the March. It was originally available with manual or automatic transmissions; later more luxurious editions were automatic-only.
Changes to the March were usually echoed in the Viewt; for example, when the March received a new dashboard the Viewt had it too, with a new wood kit. After the March convertible was introduced in 1997, Mitsuoka developed a Viewt convertible which used the Jaguar-style front but had a unique built-out rear.
The K12 Viewt
When the March was updated (becoming the K12) Mitsuoka produced a new Viewt, which first appeared in September 2005. The changes in the style of the March are evident to some extent in the new Viewt: for example, the shape of the rear door has changed and the cabin appears rounder. However, Mitsuoka have persisted with their Jaguar-style front and rear. The only two-door version is the 12SR, which is based on the March 12SR.Like the March, the new Viewt is available with 1.2-, 1.4- and 1.5-litre engines, with automatic or manual transmissions. The interior resembles the March's; leather seats are optionally available. The 12SR version uses some of the March 12SR's interior decoration, such as carbon fibre inserts on the dashboard.
Significance of the Viewt
Mitsuoka's skilful adaptation of Jaguar styling themes to an already-popular car gave Mitsuoka a huge boost in publicity, which allowed it to satisfy the conditions to be recognised as a car manufacturer.After the Viewt other manufacturers modified the March to resemble either some particular classic car (eg several models resembling the Vanden Plas Princess 1100
BMC ADO16
ADO16 is the codename for the development of what became the Morris 1100, a small family car built by the British Motor Corporation and, later, British Leyland...
) or classic cars in general (Autech's March Tango and Bolero, and Nissan Taiwan's Verita).