IN THIS FEATURE Japan's number one replicar maker Laughing all the way to the bank Something different The miniature Jaguar Mk II A nice little earner Imports and exports

Some of this may well have been true back in the 90s, when Mitsuoka really got going with his replicar business - how to tell a Starlet from a Micra from a Mirage? Today, it's nostalgia and the appeal of 'something different' that draws buyers to Mitsuoka's showrooms, with the added comfort of knowing that the cars he makes are all Japanese-based, so there are no horror stories with reliability and parts. Or at least there shouldn't be.

Also, for Mitsuoka, the replicar side of things is just one part of his business. He also has a chain of 'normal' imported car dealerships across Japan, selling everything from VWs to Detroit iron to bring in the bread and butter. These dealerships are rather charmingly called Bubu and his latest is an authorised outlet in Yokohama selling Lamborghinis.

Mitsuoka Viewt

Mitsuoka might have started out building curious 50cc specials back in the early 80s, with his own Excalibur-lookalike, the Bubu Classic SSK appearing in 1987 (since the Excalibur is a crib of the 30s Mercedes-Benz SSK, does this make the Mitsuoka a copy of a copy?). But things really started to move in 1991 when he dreamed up the Viewt, a Nissan Micra that unashamedly and hilariously aped the Jaguar Mark II, albeit in miniature.