Mitsubishi's Starion successor, still driving in the Mile High City.
Murilee MartinWhen Mitsubishi-badged vehicles became available in the United States for the 1983 model year (after more than a decade of being sold here with Dodge and Plymouth badges), the sporty Starion was one of the first models to appear. The last year for the Starion was 1989, and its replacement was the much slicker and more powerful Mitsubishi GTO.
On our shores, this car was known as the 3000GT (or as the Stealth when it wore Dodge badges), and it was available here for the 1991 through 1999 model years. Here’s a clean and well-loved ’96 3000GT, found just a few blocks from the street-parked ’74 Buick Electra Limited we admired last week.
Murilee Martin
The appearance of the 3000GT didn’t change much during the 1990s. The projector headlights appeared for the 1994 model year, replacing the earlier pop-ups, and the side air vents got a bit more dramatic.
Murilee Martin
The hot-rod VR4 version got all-wheel drive and a twin-turbocharged engine, while the regular 3000GT for ’96 had a 220-horsepower, naturally aspirated V6 driving the front wheels. That was exactly the same number of horses as the Toyota Supra that year, though the Mitsubishi weighed 41 pounds more.
Murilee Martin
Other than the MSW wheels, this car appears to be completely stock and in very nice condition. That’s impressive for a street-parked 26-year-old car that gets driven regularly in the big city.
Keyword: 1996 Mitsubishi 3000GT Is Down on the Denver Street