Japan is, perhaps, the home of the limited edition. Whether it’s for food, toys, and even cars, the country has always found a way to spruce up products. One such example was the Mitsubishi Mirage Hello Kitty Edition.
Mind you, Hello Kitty limited edition items aren’t new, but an collaboration with a car manufacturer was something different. The Sanrio-fied Mirage came out way back in 2013 as Mitsubishi’s gift of sorts to the beloved feline. Or rather, a little girl depicted as a cat, so the character’s creators say. But we digress.
So, what made the Mirage Hello Kitty special? Well, it was to commemorate the character’s 40th birthday. Only 400 units were made, and it was exclusive to the Japanese market. These days, it’s a bit of a collector’s item, mainly because of its novelty factor.
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It has to be said that it’s not totally overdone. Instead of splattering the body work with branding and Hello Kitty’s face all over the hatchback, it’s mainly just subtle nods to the character. There’s a ribbon decal on the front bumper, and the unique patterns on the hubcaps features her bow.
There are more small decals on the flanks of this limited-run Mirage. There’s one by the lower corner on the rear door and another on the fuel cap. Also, you can have it in any color for as long as it was pink. Oddly enough, Mitsubishi didn’t call that color pink as it was officially called Amethyst Purple or Plasma Purple. It still looks like pink to us.
But it’s on the inside where you’ll see more of its Sanrio-ness. Forget quilted leather seats, this one has cloth trim with Hello Kitty and her ribbon plastered all over. Mind you, it’s just the seats that get the special treatment as the rest of the cabin is plain Jane Mirage. Owners also received a Hello Kitty pillow, a stuffed toy, and even a stationary as part of the package.
Don’t expect fireworks under the hood, either. The Japanese version actually had a smaller 1.0-liter engine before it received the 1.2-liter unit that still powers the Mirage to this day. That one made just 70hp and 88Nm, a fair bit less than what we (still) have here.
In 2013, opting for this model meant an extra ¥121,543 on top of the list price of ¥1,254,960. That’s not a bad price considering it’s still under ¥1.5-M in today’s money. Convert that to local currency, and it’s still less than P600,000, which was the original price of the Mitsubishi Mirage in the Philippines all those years ago.
