Detroit 2008: Mitsubishi brings the retro to D-town
by Damon Lavrinc on Jan 15th 2008 at 12:43PM 
Click the image above for a gallery of high-res shots.
During Mitsubishi's press conference on Sunday, it paid particular attention to the marque's motorsport heritage with a video montage/quiz game on how Ralliart has fared in the last quarter century of rallying and road racing. That's no surprise, considering the introduction of the Lancer Ralliart, but Mitsu also brought a few of the vehicles that shaped its racing legacy and proudly displayed them on the show floor.
The first vehicle that caught our eye was the Group A Starion Turbo (above) that barely got a wash before being put away wet after its last race in 1988. The Starion racked up over a dozen wins in Japan and throughout the world during its four-year campaign, but beyond its on-track successes, the weights still taped onto the wheels and the rear-mounted radiator had us geeking out between photos.
The 1981 rally-prepped Lancer (2nd generation, above left) was particularly impressive, but the Galant GTO R73-X (above right) was what floored us. This Galant is a one-of-a-kind concept from 1972 that had its stock 1.6-liter inline-four swapped out for Mitsubishi's Formula Two-derived, 200-hp two-liter DOHC four. We've assembled all the cars in a gallery for your viewing enjoyment and Mitsubishi had the foresight to include a number of pics of the R73, which we've put in a separate gallery here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
geo.stewart 2:49PM (1/15/2008)
I remember the Starion from my first autoshow, mitsubishi was new to the US, it was a sweet ride. one of the first Japanese turbos in the US.
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John R 2:45PM (1/15/2008)
Thanks, Autoblog. I love looking at vintage Japanese iron.
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ma7mgte 4:14PM (1/15/2008)
I used to own a Starion ESI-R. Man, I loved that car!
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Cornholio 1:06AM (1/16/2008)
Me too, an '87 ESI-R. I drove the snot outta that thing for over 90K trouble-free miles.
In retrospect, it wasn't the most polished performer - it was more of a brute force sort of vehicle. But it sure was fun. It looked good in a mid-80s Japanese sort of way, and it was a bit different too in a world full of Nissan 300Z and Toyota Supras....
Matt Keller 4:19PM (1/15/2008)
That Ralliart is pretty damn cool.
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Preevo 5:43PM (1/15/2008)
This really has to be the best stand at the show, stuff the new cars (although the Ralliart is cool) the Starion, Ex works EX Lancer and the R72X are awesome.
Brian W 5:18PM (1/15/2008)
Love the GTO pictures, reminds me of an old Capri.
The Starion is still one of the toughest looking cars ever made.
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Casper 1:53AM (1/16/2008)
I can't help but notice in that Mitsubishi Galant GTO R73-X design cues straight from the early Mustangs. Whilst I do admit that it looks cool and even better than most of the other cars on the market today but it's just a miniaturised tribute to something great. What makes that any different to the Chinese makers like Great Wall who are getting flak for copying cars outright?
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