The specs of the Mitsubishi 3000GT read like something new today: all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, twin-turbo, with active suspension, active exhaust and active aerodynamics. But the 3000GT debuted at the very beginning of the 1990s—when Mitsubishi was rad—making it possibly the most ambitious moonshot car of its day.
The Japanese prestige cars of the ‘80s and ‘90s remain some of the most technologically advanced cars of all time. In some cases, that desire produces vehicles of immeasurable grace, like the original NSX. On the other end of the spectrum lies the Mitsubishi 3000GT.
It is not a particularly light car, with different models fitting in the mid-3000 pound range, all the way up to about 3,700. This was largely because Mitsubishi envisioned the car as “a new-age super four-wheel drive sports car.” If there was a feature that Mitsubishi could affix to the 3000GT, it did. (To that end, if there was a panel that could have a vent, it got one.) There was even a retractable hardtop version called the Spyder.
I should also mention that the car was called the GTO in Japan, and was also rebadged as the Dodge Stealth. Early cars had some of the most enthusiastic pop-up headlights ever put on a car.
The final 3000GT VR-4s were, again, a nice car for anyone to look at today: the dual-overhead-cam 3.0-liter V6 made a good 320 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque with fulltime four-wheel drive with a viscous center diff and a six-speed manual.
Also, bless, you got a completely outrageous rear wing.
I personally would never buy one of these things, believing that the instant I did, some relay or servo would give out and my car would start limping down the road with a droopy front lip and an electronically-adjustable shock out of whack.
But I don’t know if these things are as bad as I think they are.
If you have owned one of these cars, let us know in the comments below. Remember to post a picture of it, too!