Japan has never failed in providing some of the most reliable cars ever sold in the market, as well as some of the cheapest. This rare blend of reliability, build quality, and affordability, is what shot these marques from the East to the top of the demand list in the showrooms.
One Japanese automaker that enjoyed this rise to stardom was Mitsubishi. To date, Mitsubishi is renowned for making and selling some of the best sports car and rally legends we’ve ever seen. But there’s a problem with this history. Not everything Mitsubishi is remembered to date.
The most notable creation from the brand is the menacing, Subaru-killing, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Even a kid who has no idea who Collin McRae was or Sebastian Loeb can relate to this rally beast that gave not only Subaru but also Citroen a run for their money.
But there are a couple of Lancer Evolutions and other marques we sort of buried in the past. And in this list, we’ll look at 10 that should be brought back to our minds.
10 Mitsubishi Galant GTO
The Mitsubishi Galant GTO was forgotten by many petrolheads because it was one of the rarest Mitsubishis ever produced. The Mitsubishi Galant GTO took the features of the formidable GTO sports car and added to it the finesse of the Galant lineup.
The result was a very unique Mitsubishi marque. The Mitsubishi Galant GTO packed a new performance package and sexy looks that sold it as one of the most exciting Galant you could buy. Apart from looking extremely sporty with looks that gave a striking JDM vibe, the car also performed exceptionally well, with a great ton of reliability.
9 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10 marked the end of the long-running Evo nameplate that had been under Mitsubishi for 10 generations. This marque was the 10th and last generation.
The Lancer Evo X was not the most remembered Evo – that crown is left to the rally kingpins that inspired normal people to buy this mad sports sedan. Moreover, most Lancer Evolutions got either a Fast and Furious mod or any other aftermarket additions that thinned the line between the different makes. This 10th generation masterpiece packed a powerful 2.0L turbocharged I4 engine and 25lbs less weight than the previous model.
8 Mitsubishi FTO
The Mitsubishi FTO was a formidable sports car that suffered what some petrolheads might call stereotyping. Yes, it wasn’t the best-looking JDM car you could get in the market at the time. It was decent-looking, but not provocative and alluring. That made some gearheads believe nothing good was tucked underneath that metal skin. But there was.
The FTO packed a very powerful 1.8L I4 engine for the base model and a powerful 200HP, 2.0L V6 for the top trim. This marque also used Mitsubishi’s MIVEC engine technology that made it as powerful as it was. However, inexplicably, people preferred the Eclipse over it.
7 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4
This 1994 beauty was nothing short of fast and interesting. The Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 lived in an era when everyone was talking about the Supra and the Nissan 300ZX that were ruling the showrooms, drift circuits, and tracks in the ‘90s. That gave the VR-4 very little room to shine.
But then, Mitsubishi didn’t intend to build a lot of this ride. The 1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 thus ended up being a very rare car, even harder to spot today. However, this marque still packed a ton of power and new features that allowed it to go head to head with the 300ZX and Supra that were driving petrolheads nuts.
6 Lancer Evolution VI
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI is the rally juggernaut that allowed Makinen to secure his final world drivers’ championship in 1999. With four wins under the belt, this menacing Mitsubishi creation saw Makinen to his fourth consecutive world championship.
What was different about the Lancer Evolution VI was the active differential that was introduced in this model. This marque was later retained by Mitsubishi for their 2000 and 2001 title fights, albeit slightly weaker given how quickly their opponents evolved. Despite being an aged car by this time, the Lancer Evolution VI still showed the mighty Japanese ingenuity that was used to build it into the formidable machine it is by securing several wins.
5 2006/2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
The last generation Mitsubishi Eclipse came with radical changes that hit the market by storm. For the last, 2006 model year, the Mitsubishi Eclipse GT wore a different exterior styling that looked very modern and updated.
The 2006/2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT thus looked like a whole new car, all-around. Apart from donning striking JDM sports car looks, the last generation Eclipse also packed an impressive performance package that made it a very powerful car at the time. However, petrolheads had their sights on other offerings such that the last Eclipse GT didn’t get as much attention as it deserved.
4 Mitsubishi Starion
In the late ‘80s, Mitsubishi was in a quest to make a name for itself domestically. In this hunt for domestic dominance, one of the vehicles they used to solidify their position was the 1988 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo.
This 1980’s relic packed a luxurious interior and unique performance that was rare in the era. According to some critics, this marque was one of the best sports cars to ever get launched in that decade. The most remembered feature of this marque was the digital gauge cluster that splashed the interior.
3 Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR
This forgotten classic racer ruled the dusty and muddy rally stages of Australia. Born in the early ‘70s, the goal behind building the Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR was to create a simple, light, reliable, and manageable sedan that would give the company global success.
Well, instead of going truly global with the 1600 GSR, Mitsubishi put a lot of focus on the Australian market where they believed they had weaker competition and the product fit exactly what the average driver in the region wanted. The result was something better, with the Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR taking part and winning, for five years in a row, the classic Australian Southern Cross Rally.
2 1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
The ‘90s saw Chrysler and GM work overtime to get imports under their monikers onto the market as Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla threatened their market share. While this duel was going on, Mitsubishi was launching the iconic Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX.
This legend packed a turbocharger and a striking exterior design that stuck with JDM fans to date. To hit the market hard and running, Mitsubishi partnered with Diamond Star Motors to sell a variant of this Eclipse as the Plymouth Laser, helping GM in its fight.
1 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo was not launched to compete in rallying alone. When it struck the domestic shores, the Evo came to launch a war with the Subaru WRX at the time.
The idea behind building the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII was to create a car that stood out from the crowd. This marque was thus built to dominate the racetrack, something that it did while not compromising on the revered Japanese build quality and affordability that made these cars a fan favorite. Today, getting an Evo VIII is a very expensive endeavor with most of them having been heavily modified into more formidable track weapons.