Mitsubishi 3000GT

Overview

A two door / four seat grand touring sports car made by the Japanese firm Mitsubishi through-out the 1990s. The car was unique in being one of the few performance cars of the era that could be had with all-wheel drive. It was known in the Americas and Europe as the Mitsubishi 3000GT (or in Japan as the Mitsubishi GTO), but was sold concurrently as the Dodge Stealth in North America.

History

First produced in Japan in 1990 as the Mitsubishi GTO, the U.S./European version was showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1990 under the name HSX¹. Its goals were to replace the Mitsubishi Starion (and the Chrysler Conquest) and to create a contender for Mitsubishi in the sports car arena of the Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX-7, and Toyota Supra, while following the Japanese tradition of under pricing and outperforming more expensive, luxurious cars. The first American and Canadian 3000GTs were produced at the Nagoya plant in Okazaki, Japan and publicly distributed in the fall of 1990. At that same time, Dodge released the sister car of the 3000GT, the Dodge Stealth. The Dodge Stealth was mechanically identical to the 3000GT. The only differences were the body and some options. While the Stealth was only distributed in the US and Canada, the 3000GT was never sold in Canada. The GTO in Japan lasted from 1990 to 2001, the 3000GT in the US and Europe lasted from 1991 to 1999, and the sister car, the Stealth, lasted only from 1991 to 1996 (1995 in Canada). Here is an excerpt from the book "Japanese Supercars" (c) 1992, Mallard Press:

“What Mitsubishi set out to do was to cram every bit of high-tech gadgetry available into its 2+2 3000GT, making it one of the most advanced sports cars on the planet. Despite its credentials, the 3000GT can trace its lineage to a very unimpressive sporty car called the Starion. A rear-wheel drive car, the Starion was initially conceived as competition for the Nissan Z cars of the 1980's. However, with its boxy styling and modest performance and handling characteristics, the Starion was, by most measures, a failure. So, when Mitsubishi began planning for the car that would become the company's top-of-the-line replacement for the Starion, they literally started with a clean sheet of paper. However, before the first line was drawn, some basic marketing decisions were made about the new car. Drawing in part on the marketing strategy made famous by General Motors founder Alfred P. Sloan, Mitsubishi decided the new car would be offered in multiple stages of tuning and equipment. This was especially important because Mitsubishi would be sharing the new car with its close U.S. partner, Chrysler. Although the car would be designed and built in Japan, it would also be available at Chrysler's Dodge dealers under the name Stealth. Chrysler was insistent that a basic-level vehicle should be manufactured and sold for a price of just under $17,000. While the ultimate goal was to make a no-holds-barred sports car, the initial platform would have to be flexible enough to accommodate a bargain-basement model. The rear-wheel-drive platform that had propelled the Starion was discarded in favor of a front-wheel-drive set-up that could draw from Mitsubishi's other front-wheel-drive cars. The basis for the 3000GT is the chassis used in the Eclipse, a very cheaply priced sport coupe that uses four-cylinders for power and employs front-wheel-drive in its most common model…With all these goodies crammed in, the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 demanded aggressive styling. Working jointly with Chrysler's Highland Park International Design Studio, the stylists at Mitsubishi's studio in Okasaki, Japan, created a car that makes a definite performance statement. Influenced by the cab-forward styling of the HSR-II and Dodge Intrepid prototype vehicles, the 3000GT is awash in air dams, air scoops, vent ducts and power bulges. All are functional, except the rear side strakes that are undoubtedly there to remind people of the Ferrari Testarossa.”