Cheap Supercar: 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4
The Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 hails from an era when Japan was cranking out some of the best sports cars of the era, from the Toyota Supra to the Mazda RX-7. Those cars have all enjoyed fairly explosive increases in value, thanks to nostalgia among GenXers and the simple fact that they are fantastic cars to drive. The 3000GT has always fallen a bit short of those models value-wise, even in twin-turbocharged form like the VR4 shown here, but most of the reasons for its lower price won’t hinder your ability to enjoy it on a daily basis. This earlier example of Mitsubishi’s AWD supercar is listed with no reserve and bidding is quite low at the moment.
The first thing you notice about any of these Japanese sports models is a bit of a shared identity. All of the predominant models from the era were trying to be grand tourers first, sports cars second, with an emphasis seemingly placed on balancing high-performance with reasonable comfort inside. The trade-off is that none of these cars – even the highly desirable MK4 Supra – have ever threatened the likes of the Porsche 911 or Ferrari 348 for the being considered the dominant sports car of the era. The emphasis on a GT-like driving experience was clearly more of a priority, with the exception of the Acura NSX.
According to the seller, the previous owner of this 3000GT racked up 80,000 miles by 1999, with its last service date from May of that year. The Mitsubishi was then parked and only saw 650 miles of use since then. That means in 25 years, it has seen less than 1,000 miles of use, which is rather amazing. Still, 80,000 miles isn’t exactly time capsule mileage, so you’ll find signs of wear and tear throughout. The seller notes some flashing lights on the dash tied to the airbag, and that there are some broken HVAC vents. Incredibly, the active aero features that these VR4s came with is said to still be in working order.
The seller doesn’t mention one important detail as it relates to this 3000GT’s history, and that’s the timing belt. The 3000GT came with the 6G72 V-6 engine, which was hardly an exotic mill with the exception of the fact that it had a turbocharger. Still, as an interference engine, a snapped timing belt will send you to boat anchor status pretty quick, so even with its supposedly high state of preservation, the next owner would be wise to get that belt replaced ASAP before doing much driving. This 3000GT VR4 listed here on eBay may not be the most exotic sports car ever made, but it’s still a relative bargain in today’s marketplace.
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Comments
Super car,ah no..
correct
They don’t mention if the rear steering mechanisms are in working order. Based on one of these that Wheeler Dealers did a few years ago, sorting out the rear is not too difficult. Despite some comments to the negative, this was a great, albeit complicated, car that was a treat to drive when all systems are operating properly. I’d be surprised if the price stays below 5 figures. Anywhere close to that would be a fine deal for this unusual car. Always wanted one.
I think (hope) you meant 4 figures.
These were fairly decent cars. They were quick, lavishly — maybe TOO lavishly — appointed, and handled well. They were also heavy, which the driver could always feel, but in retrospect, better than one might suspect.
One thing that would scare me away is the parts situation. Finding some of the VR-4-specific bits might not be at all easy, and more than a few — particularly some of the rear suspension bushings, which flexed to provide four-wheel steering — are unlikely to be found without a great deal of searching.
When I drove one back in 1991, it was impressive. Now, many years and miles later, maybe not so much.
Any idea how much a timing chain change is on one of these big babies?
Timing belt, not chain. My ex had a 2000 Mitsubishi GT convertible with the V6 engine and it looked a lot like this 3000 GT’s engine (without the twin turbo). It was a front wheel drive car and I changed the belt myself. It was about a 3 hour job with the FWD an issue to deal with in the process. The engine in this one is also a transverse mount so I would expect a similar effort to do the timing belt, i.e., wheel and CV shaft removal after getting suspension and brake components out of the way. It’s been almost 20 years since I did the job so don’t hold me to the details too tightly. The repair manual was pretty clear.
I wonder if the modern replacement timing belts for these cars(even from the dealer) in the last 20 yrs are made of better quality rubber & can go longer than 60k miles, compared to the ones made in the early ’90s?
& as for the AGE LIMIT of a belt with low mileage, what about, say, a 19 year old timing belt with only 43k miles on it? – on my non turbo dohc 3000gt, that’s an automatic car that’s rarely revved much at all. Now i put only 300 hundred miles a yr on it.
I wonder if there’s a way to CHECK the condition of my car’s belt without having to remove much under the hood.
Joe, good question. The only timing belt that ever let go on my was on a Mitsu Eclipse. Thank the lucky stars that it happened just before the 60K warranty was up.
These were good sellers as the Dodge Stealth for about a year or so. Over sticker wasn’t uncommon. Good driver abet no Porsche they were an excellent value based on the amount of feature content. A yellow Stealth was to pace Indy until it’s japanese origins were brought up. Dodge cobbled up a prototype Viper to pace the race while the Stealth remained the festival cars.
A base stealth in the early ’90s had none of this turbo’s options & weighed a HELL of a lot less! In ’91, one could be ordered even without anti lock brakes or p/w, & possibly even w/o a/c, tho i never seen one as such with no a/c.
We had them with both the sohc and dohc engines. Only recall one ES without pw. The base cars had the power conveniences. All of ours had air but we did have base Lasers, Talons and RSes without it. Sent those out to ARA when needed.
Wow, I wouldn’t have thought that they would put the SOHC in the Stealth / 3000. I know the base Laser / Eclipse had them.
Is ARA some sort of rental company or something?
@PRA4SNW, ARA did aftermarket air, sound and auto repair in Lansing Michigan. They still show up in the same place today.
Seen a guy at local no prep track with one,LS swap ,slicks on all 4 ,ran really good…
I ran one of these up Pikes Peak back in the day. Back when it was mostly dirt. Great car for that event. Twin turbo and 4wd. It’s a big old heavy beast but gets the job done.
When these first came out I saw a Red one driving along
Highway 101.I thought to myself (sarcasticily) “Stealth –
what an ironic name for that car”.
super car, not Super Car. Done japanese style which has lots to offer (some driver/owners).
I am enamored w/the auto industry for its ability to offer a myriad of products for any APPLICATION there even could be (thru history). Just wish they could do so every year at low price and in production quality to meet the public demand. Would better market research enable this (by producing ‘just enuff’ )?
Or is there a minimum production number below which no car could be sold at profit (say 100K at 30K$). Love to see them jocky those numbers publicly. For instance, ford: “We can make 200,000 “fiat 850 spiders” at 30K$” They did the pre-orders for the “Bronco”. Whats the model for them so we can get a rig? I
cant buy anything new. It’s just not made…
Development costs plus all manner of compliance costs and manufacturing costs and marketing costs and how many do need to build to make a profit. Add to that public reception and whether the maker has a solid reputation, think Toyota Camry, or corners cut like Chevy Vega or Citation. Building only enough will uphold the used car value if it’s a good vehicle. Build too many and you saturate the market and give up profits just to unload inventory. People who want an affordable car are a small segment of the market especially when they see what their dollar buys today.
Agreed. New cars today are fantastic value.
Unfortunately, not a supercar, neither in in-era performance nor chassis layout. A supercar, (especially in 1991) is largely defined as a car with 2 seats, a LONGITUDINALLY mounted, mid-engine layout and eye catching, even wild bodywork designed to look good doing 20mph on Rodeo drive. Meanwhile, a Hypercar is almost any car design that challenged previous performance benchmarks. (McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron, RImac Nevera…) For this reason, the transverse mounted Lamborghini Miura was NOT the worlds first supercar and this front engine, 4-seat 3000GT hatchbock is most certainly does not qualify as a supercar. Sorry, but it just doesn’t. In fact, the 3.5L V6 in my 97′ Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution makes as much or more horsepower then this twin-turbo 3.0L V6 from the same manufacturer from the same era.
Wow! Way to beat up on the author. Maybe not a Super Car by definition, yours or others, but it was a good performer as auto manufacturing was emerging from the so called malaise era. Mitsubishi put forth a good effort. Was it the best modern car you could buy that year? Maybe that was the Honda. Or not. Is it an interesting car to this day? I’d say so.
Ha ha, Muira not a supercar because it had a transverse engine! That’s ridiculous.
Twin-turbo, all wheel drive, all wheel steering, active aero. Tell me that wasn’t the cutting edge in 1991. (Still is). Beautiful, too. Say what you want, but Mitsubishi put it all on the line.They didn’t sell in great numbers, but they gave it everything that they had. These should be worth more. The Japanese Corvette.
Friend of mine had one of these. Don’t remember what year. I drove it a few times. Remember that it felt heavy and seemed to be a boulevard cruiser. I’d be interested in one, but not this one. I’d want a time capsule
I remember those cars when they were new. $72k window sticker if I recall correctly and I don’t know if you should refer to the interior as “lavish” as the only leather was on the front seat surfaces – the entire remainder was vinyl, including the complete rear seat. Factory flat rate on spark plug cleaning or replacement was over three hours. Start one cold and shut it right off the plugs were too fuel-fouled to fire again until they were cleaned. But they would haul!
When new these were new they stickered in the thirties and with mark-ups would have sold in the forties. This emphasized their extreme value but as others have said they didn’t have the handling to go with the looks. If you wanted a fun car the entry models offered the same looks for easier money.
My then employer, ASC, engineered and built the Spyder (folding hardtop) for Mitsu. I got to drive a VR4 and was pleasantly surprised at the acceleration – I was accelerating and still on the freeway on ramp and was well into ticket territory.
One of the best cars Mitsubishi ever produced.
Except for the leaky capacitors in early ’90s cars inside the engine computer & if automatic, also in it’s computer – tho both are ez to replace under the front of the console.
& the pesky plastic wheel(s) that would break that guide the cable in the window regulators. I think even those with manual crank windows had those plastic wheels. I wish instead they used something like all steel ’60s & ’70s GM window regulators with meshing steel gears instead of taut/tight cables.
I had the same sort of window regulator problem in my 2000 Volvo C70. As recommended by some clever DIYers, I replaced the broken plastic pulley with one from a sliding screen door that ride in the tracks. There were 4 but only the largest of them (carrying the most stress) was broken. There was some fiddling to get it to fit, but it’s worked fine since.