Picture special: 100 years of Mitsubishi

A pictorial history of one of Japan's most interesting car companies

10 October 2017

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Mitsubishi may not be as high-profile as some of its Japanese rivals, but it’s been around for longer than any of them and it’s got a pretty colourful history too.

A third of its car-making arm is now owned by Renault-Nissan, but over the years the Japanese company has formed partnerships with Chrysler, Volvo, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Proton and Hyundai, and its cars have carried a multitude of badges including Plymouth and Dodge.The wider Mitsubishi group is one of Japan’s largest companies, with interests in banking, aircraft production and shipbuilding, among many others.2017 marks the car company’s centenary, although things were pretty quiet for the first half of that. Here’s what it’s achieved in its 100 years:
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Model A (1917)

Designed as a luxury vehicle for government officials, the Fiat-based Mitsubishi Model-A was Japan’s first mass-production car – although just 22 were built over a four-year production run, as it was too expensive to make to compete with American and European rivals.
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PX33 (1937)

Mitsubishi took a breather from building cars for a while, but returned in 1937 with Japan’s first passenger car to be fitted with full-time four-wheel drive. The PX33 was designed for military use first and foremost, but just four prototypes were built before the plug was pulled. The onset of the Second World War saw Mitsubishi exit the car business - for the time being.
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500 (1960)

The first vehicle to be aerodynamically tested in a wind tunnel in Japan, the 500 (codenamed A10 by the factory) was also Mitsubishi’s first post-war car. It made its debut at the 1959 Tokyo motor show and was powered by a rear-mounted air-cooled two-cylinder 493cc engine that drove the rear wheels via a three-speed manual gearbox.
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360 (1962)

The precursor to Mitsubishi’s long-running series of Minica kei cars, the 360 was fitted with an air-cooled 359cc two-cylinder engine and came in pick-up, saloon, estate or light van forms.
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Colt 600 (1962)

Successor to the 500, the 600 was the first Mitsubishi to be marketed as a Colt. A more capable family car than anything previously offered by Mitsubishi, the 600 was fitted with an air-cooled two-cylinder 594cc engine that gave a top speed of 62mph.
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Colt 1000 (1963)

The most grown up car yet to come from the Mitsubishi stable, the Colt 1000 (codenamed A20) was utterly conventional with its 977cc water-cooled engine in the nose powering the rear wheels. There was a choice of saloon or estates and by 1968 there would be 1100, 1200 and 1500 editions too.
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Minica 70 (1969)

Another first for Mitsubishi; the Minica 70 was the first kei car to feature a hatchback. Taking over where the 360 had left off, there was still a 356cc engine but now it was water-cooled and was capable of pumping out a throbbing 37bhp, although there was a 25bhp version for those who weren’t power junkies.
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Galant (1970)

The Galant marked a new chapter for Mitsubishi as it was the company’s first full-size family car with a decent-sized engine; displacements ranged from 1.3 to 1.7 litres. Buyers could choose from a four-door saloon or five-door wagon – or a very neatly designed pillarless coupé (pictured) which was Mitsubishi’s first. The Galant was finally killed off in 2012 – in ninth-generation form.
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Dodge Colt (1971)

As early as 1971 Mitsubishi broke into the US market by teaming up with Chrysler and badging its cars as Dodge. The first was the Colt which was based on the contemporary Galant. As a result it was available with the same three body styles while standard fare was a 1.6-litre engine.
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Galant FTO (1971)

Mitsubishi started to get sporty with this short-wheelbase Galant powered by an 85bhp 1.4-litre engine; the capacity was upped to 1.6-litres and as much as 109bhp by 1973.
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Lancer (1973)

Introduced to fill the gap between the Minica and the Galant, the Lancer sired the Celeste coupé and was generally sold in four-door saloon or five-door estate form.
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Lancer Rallycar (1973)

Although the car fell into the worthy-but-dull category, it did prove talented in rallying, going on to win the Safari Rally in 1974.
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Colt/Mirage (1978)

Mitsubishi’s economy car for the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Colt - marketed as the Mirage in some countries - featured 1.2, 1.4 or 1.6-litre engines, offering up to 104bhp in turbocharged form. Bizarrely, the gearbox featured high- and low-range modes so it effectively had eight forward speeds - on a budget economy car. Yes, we certainly do love Japanese over-engineering, which obsesses over standards, not budgets.
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Sapporo (1978)

Now here’s a blast from the past; when was the last time you saw one of these? Launched for the Japanese market in 1976 as the Galant Lambda, the Sapporo was also sold as the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo in the US, where it was also marketed as the Chrysler Sigma Scorpion; Australians could buy it as the Mitsubishi Scorpion.
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L200 (1978)

Pick-up trucks have been mainstream in Africa along with North and South America for decades, but only recently have they been anything other than a niche product in Europe. We’re now on the fifth-generation L200, but this is where it all started way back in 1978.
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Cordia (1981)

Another long-forgotten car from Mitsubishi’s back catalogue, the Cordia coupé sold alongside the Tredia saloon, using the same floorpan and mechanicals. That meant a choice of 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0-litre engines driving the front wheels. We suspect there aren’t many survivors...
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Pajero/Shogun (1982)

Unveiled as the Pajero at the 1981 Tokyo motor show, Mitsubishi’s SUV had to be renamed for some markets. That first variation on the theme survived until 1991 in short- or long-wheelbase forms and since then we’ve had another three generations.
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Starion (1982)

Was this car originally supposed to be called Stallion? Noone is sure but this four-pot sporting coupé featured a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, but later wide-bodied cars featured a 2.6-litre unit.
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Space Wagon (1983)

It would be easy to write off the Space Wagon as just another forgotten eighties relic, but the concept was actually pretty cutting-edge when it appeared. Arriving in the same year as the first fully fledged people-carrier, the Plymouth Voyager/Dodge Caravan, the Space Wagon could seat seven but was as wieldy as a conventional estate car.
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Galant VR-4 (1987)

The first vehicle to be fitted with active Electronically Controlled Suspension, the Galant VR-4 led to Mitsubishi being awarded its first Car of the Year award in Japan. With a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot and 4WD, the Lancer Evolution was descended directly from it.
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HSR-II concept (1989)

Every other year, starting in 1987, Mitsubishi released a fresh HSR concept car for the Tokyo motor show. HSR stood for Highly Sophisticated-transport Research, and there were six iterations with the HSR-VI of 1997 being the last. This is the HSR-II from 1989.
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Eclipse (1989)

Although the Eclipse didn’t make it to Europe, it was popular across great swathes of Asia and the US too. There were five generations between 1989 and 2012, all of them pitched as affordable sportsters with four-cylinder engines. While the first iteration came only as a coupé, all of the later editions were offered as convertibles too.
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GTO (1990)

Sold in most markets as the 3000 GT – and also as the Dodge Stealth in the US – the GTO was fitted with full-time four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and active aerodynamics; front and rear spoilers self-adjusted to suit the conditions. All cars featured a V6 in naturally aspirated or turbocharged forms offering up to 320bhp. For the US market there was a neat coupé-cabrio edition, two years before the Mercedes SLK first appeared.
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HSR-III concept (1991)

After a pair of fixed-roof concepts the HSR franchise switched to convertibles. While aerodynamics had been key with the earlier car, this time it was about engine efficiency, with the HSR-III packing a 1.6-litre V6 engine.
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Lancer Evolution I (1992)

Right, here’s the one you’ve been waiting for – the first of a new breed of supercar. Power (all 247bhp of it) came from a DOHC 16-valve turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that would survive almost to the end of Evo production.
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ESR concept (1993)

When the ESR (Ecological Science Research) arrived way back in 1993 it was pretty advanced. The front wheels were driven by an electric motor while at the back was a 1.5-litre petrol engine that acted as a generator. All this, 17 years before the world’s first range extender went on sale, the ill-fated Chevrolet Volt.
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Lancer Evo II (1993)

Within a year of the Evo I arriving there was a sequel, with a slightly longer wheelbase, wider tracks and recalibrated suspension. The power jumped to 256bhp and thanks to those other changes the car handled better and was more stable than before.
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FTO (1994)

Japan’s car makers have produced a raft of cars over the years, designed solely for the home market. The FTO was one of these but there were so many grey imports to other right-hand-drive markets that the car was sold officially in the UK, Australia and Hong Kong. There were 1.8 or 2.0-litre engines driving the front wheels.
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Lancer Evo III (1995)

You’d be hard pushed to spot the difference between an Evo I and its successor, but Mitsubishi got out its crayons for the third iteration with a wilder design that provided more downforce. This was the first Evo to enter the World Rally Championship, at the hands of Tommi Mäkinen.
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Lancer Evo IV (1996)

These refreshed Evos came thick and fast (with an emphasis on fast) in the early days. For the fourth-generation car there was a new platform, a new body and a revised powertrain with a twin-scroll turbocharger. The result was an extra 10 horses under the bonnet, and to help tame these was an active rear differential along with an Active Yaw Control for the first time.
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Pajero Evolution (1997)

Inspired by Mitsubishi’s Paris-Dakar desert racers, the Pajero Evolution was a bit of a beast with its pumped-up bodywork and 276bhp 3.5-litre V6.
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Pajero Evolution (1997)

You could switch between two- and four-wheel drive on the move while the standard transmission was a five-speed semi-auto.
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Lancer Evo V (1998)

For the fifth take on the Evo formula Mitsubishi pumped up the aesthetics along with the power and torque, courtesy of a larger turbo nozzle. The brakes were beefed up and so was the cooling; the front and wings and bonnet were now made of aluminium, to cut weight.
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Lancer Evo VI (1999)

Seen by many as the sweet spot in Evo production, the sixth iteration featured a twin-wing rear spoiler, a stiffer bodyshell, improved cooling and tweaked suspension for even better handling. This was also the first Evo to be officially imported into Britain – but US buyers were still denied the pleasure.
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Lancer Evo VII (2001)

While every version of the Evo up to the sixth was aesthetically wilder than before, things were reversed with the Evo VII. Now based on the bigger Lancer Cedia, the Evo VII was more roomy, more refined and heavier than before, despite a lighter bodyshell thanks to the use of more aluminium.Peak power was still officially 276bhp, but torque jumped to 282lb ft from 275lb ft. British buyers could choose an FQ-300 version, with the Q standing for Quick...
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Lancer Evo VIII (2003)

The first Evo to be officially imported into the United States, the Evo VIII got a bigger fuel tank (but still not big enough for it's rampant thirst), a more aggressive nose design and a stiffer, lighter bodyshell. British buyers could also buy FQ-320, FQ-330 and FQ-340 editions too, and by 2004 there was an FQ-400 too, with a faintly ridiculous 404bhp.
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Lancer Evo IX (2005)

With the Evo VIII being so accomplished Mitsubishi didn’t feel the need to go overboard with its successor. As a result the key changes were some cosmetic tweaks and the adoption of MIVEC variable valve timing to boost low-down torque and improve throttle response.
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Lancer Evo X (2005)

For the final Evo flourish there was an all-new car in the Evo X – a new bodyshell as well as a new engine. Bigger, heavier and less communicative than its forebears, it was still FQ though thanks to the 295bhp and 300lb ft on tap from the new turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot.
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i-MiEV (2009)

After all of those crazy four-wheel drive super saloons, the i-MiEV was something of a come down, but it showed that Mitsubishi had a green conscience. An electrified version of the i, the i-MiEV was the first production electric car of the modern age. However, while it beat the Nissan Leaf to market by a year, it was nothing like as accomplished.
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i-MiEV Sport Air concept (2009)

Looking like it’s melted in the sun, the cute-looking Sport Air used the same floorpan as the mid-engined, rear-wheel drive i-MiEV, but with a pepped-up motor that could deliver 80bhp and 170lb ft of torque. Sadly, while we got the i-MiEV we didn’t get the Sport Air.
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ASX (2010)

It would be easy to write off the ASX - called RVR in Japan and Canada and Outlander Sport in the USA - as just another crossover, and while it doesn’t really offer anything new in terms of packaging or design, it was the world’s first car to feature a diesel engine with variable valve timing – which in diesel-markets like Europe at least means it’s more frugal than most of its rivals, and feels much more flexible.
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Outlander PHEV (2013)

The original Outlander arrived in 2003 and looked pretty weird to say the least. A sequel appeared in 2006 then the third generation car went on sale in 2012. The Outlander was just another mid-sized SUV until this version arrived, because it brought with it a plug-in hybrid option – the first SUV to feature such tech.It has been a strong seller, shifting over 100,000 worldwide since launch - and that's without any sales in the large US market; technical delays have meant that the car will not go on sale in the States until December 2017, with starting MSRP pricing of US$35,535.

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