Five cars that should guide Mitsubishi's reformation

Mitsubishi Motors is set to survive under Renault-Nissan ownership. While that probably means more SUVs, we remember the best times...

Carlos Ghosn, once-bossman (now chairman) of the whole Franco-Japanese amalgam that is Renault-Nissan announced the other day that a full Nissan-Mitsubishi merger is "off the table" and that "We want Mitsubishi to reform itself."

You should know by now that's no trigger to start putting away money for your next Evo deposit. Its more than likely Mitsubishi will be turned into an SUV brand or even an all-electric venture or worse still a budget brand for 'developing markets.'

We thought now was a good time to take a stroll through Mitsubishi history as you want to remember it. Full of vvvvt-shhhh noises and the smell of un-burnt premium.

#1 Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR (1973)

This is where Mitsubishi first made its mark on motorsport. The great grandaddy of the Evo Lancers. During the mid '70s this car took the endurance rally scene by storm, taking victory first in the Southern Cross Rally in Australia, then moving on to defeat the Lancia Stratos in the Safari Rally in Kenya - an event it would win multiple times.

All this well before long-time arch rival Subaru had gotten its act together.

#2 Mitsubishi Starion (1982)

One of the earlier production EFI turbo cars, the Starion was pretty advanced for its day. Like the Lancer 1600 GSR before it, the Starion had its hand at several motorsport events, finding success in Group A touring car racing. It arrived with too little, too late for Group B rally, however. 

As a road car it was a quirky alternative to the 280/300ZX, First gen RX-7 and A60/A70 Supra, superior in quite a few ways, but never an out-seller.

#3 Mitsubishi GTO/3000GT (1990)

Everyone knows the '90s was the golden era of Japanese sports cars. Japan's economy was in complete overdrive meaning a bunch of cars that should never have made it past concept stage were fast-tracked out onto the road. The Mitsubishi GTO (or 3000GT as it was badged in Australia) was the answer to the NSX, GT-R and Supra. A supercar for the masses. 

It was also highly technically advanced. It had full-time 4WD, four-wheel steering, and four-wheel independent suspension with electronic damper control. All this tech meant a fully-packed GTO would weigh over 1700kg though, making it slower in a straight line than its competitors, it was also not a big seller in the all important US market, although its rarity has made it desirable of late.

#4 Mitsubishi Galant/Legnum VR-4 (8th gen, 1996)

Why just the eighth generation? With solid performance credentials and the characteristic advanced tech, this generation has become incredibly popular in grey-import markets. Plus with the introduction of the Legnum wagon variant, you could essentially have an Evo wagon.

It was fitted with a 2.5-litre V6 and could be had with a Porsche-inspired semi auto-transmission or Active Yaw Control diff lifted out of a Lancer Evo IV solidifying its JDM tuner-car status.

#5 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (2005)

This is bound to be controvertial, everybody has a favourite Evo. The IX was the last car based on the eighth-generation Lancer. It had a million different variants for every taste and tune GSR, MR, RS, SE that largely depended on how comfortable you wanted to be and how much money you wanted to throw at it.

Needless to say, the Evo is the ultimate rally car for the road, it was always compeditive with it's arch rival, the WRX STi, but the cost of entry and maintenence made it for true enthusiasts only. There are far more tuned examples rolling around than the relatively common STi, so good luck finding an original.

What's your favourite Mitsubishi of all time? Let us know in the comments.