Year of Mitsubishi Proudia

The Mitsubishi Proudia is a luxury car manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors from late 1999, positioned just below the flagship Mitsubishi Dignity limousine in the company's range. Its name is a portmanteau derived from the English word "proud", and "diamond" (referring to the company's logo) as a "fitting epithet for Mitsubishi Motors' ultimate luxury car", The entire Proudia/ Dignity range was designed by Mitsubishi Motors and co-manufactured with Hyundai of South Korea, who marketed their own version as the Hyundai Equus.

The Proudia was priced from ¥4.6million to ¥6.4million, and came in three specifications labelled A, B or C. A and B featured a 6G74 3497cc GDi V6 producing 240PS (177kW) at 5500rpm and 343N·m (253lb·ft) of torque at 2500rpm, while specification C featured the 8A80 4498cc GDi V8 producing 280PS (206kW) at 5000rpm and 412N·m (304lb·ft) at 4000rpm. The car was equipped with several advanced features like CCD cameras to monitor adjacent lanes and behind the car, and a laser activated adaptive cruise control.

The Dignity and Proudia's combined volumes fell far shy of Mitsubishi's estimated 300 sales per month, and they were available for only fifteen months from their introduction on February 20, 2000, before Mitsubishi's financial difficulties forced the company to discontinue both models in an effort to streamline its range and reduce costs. However, the Hyundai Equus proved more commercially successful and would remain in production until replaced in 2008.

(Sources: Fact & Figures 2000, Fact & Figures 2005, Mitsubishi Motors website)