Low Mileage Twin Turbo: 1993 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4
The Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 is one of the more memorable Japanese sports cars to emerge from the impressive class of early 90s performance vehicles. While we often talk about how every year seems to raise the bar of the performance car standard, I still look back to the middle 90s as being one of the best times to be a car enthusiast just based on the volume of performance vehicles offered for sale by a wide range of foreign and domestic manufacturers. The 3000GT is a twin-turbocharged grand tourer, and this example is offered here on eBay with just under 25,000 original miles and bidding sitting at $11,800.
Of course, the reserve isn’t met at the current bid price, but it’s not a guarantee this 3000GT will see huge money. At the moment, this is one of the few models that can appear for sale as a low-mileage survivor and not be granted a big-time sale price. The Mazda RX-7, Acura NSX, Toyota Supra, and Nissan 300ZX all would eclipse $25,000 with ease in this sort of condition, but not the 3000GT. Some pundits say it’s because of its heavier curb weight while others claim it just wasn’t as engaging to drive. I don’t think you can go wrong with a Japanese grand tourer from this crop of vehicles, and the 3000GT may truthfully represent a better value than those other coupes at the moment.
The only car from that same class that strikes me as being worth $40,000 or more is the Mazda RX-7. I know, I know – the Toyota Supra is the top banana in that group, but I just don’t see it being as cherished as the Mazda. The recent Mecum auction in Kissimmee saw no fewer than five Supras cross the block with zero RX-7s appearing for sale. On the same note, there was just one 3000GT VR-4 that went up for grabs with nearly 70,000 miles on the clock – and it pulled a healthy $22,000. It was otherwise identical to this car except for the fact that our subject car has much lower mileage. With that logic in mind, one has to wonder if the bidding will take off for a survivor like this.
So again, it’s not to say the Supra doesn’t deserve its top ranking on the desirability scale, but if I were shopping these cars, I’d peg the RX-7 as the more desirable collector car and the 3000GT VR-4 as the superior value. With prices for a time-warp car like this one staying well below what a Supra in this sort of condition would sell for, I would buy one of these gorgeous Mitsubishis all day long. Park this next to an FD-chassis RX-7 and you have a good chance of outperforming your retirement account, at least in the short term.
Comments
We see a lot of BF readers comments exclaiming the downfall of the Detroit Iron when comparing then to now, but obviously by what we see here it’s not just American steel that has fallen from grace. In ‘89 my ex and I went to the local Dodge dealer where we bought a Raider; next to it on the showroom floor was a Dodge Stealth. You can guess which one I really wanted but we had a new addition to our family so that was a nonstarter. Te salesman said “When you hit the big jackpot you’ll want to check out the Mitsubishi VR with all wheel drive”.
There was a reason Chrysler just rebodied the VR-it was an amazing car to drive for the price point. Tenacious in the corners, a rush when the turbos kicked in and on a decent highway as smooth as a politicians promise..
And today? They sell what is IMO a flatlanders citified 4dr version of the Raider.
Sad.
That being said, this is another I’d own in a heartbeat and it’s a bargain compared to the others in its time period and more GPM (grins per mile) besides.
It’s a shame that your “salesman” didn’t know that the Stealth RT Twin Turbo was AWD…
Not really sure what to think. I drove a couple when they were new, and enjoyed them, but even then the complexity of the “active aero” (I could never feel a difference between “on” and “off”), the four-wheel steering and other jazzy features of the full-boat VR-4 seemed like a harbinger of problems ahead….
Doesn’t seem likely a current Mitsu dealer would be of much help with parts and service. I wouldn’t worry at all about the major hardware, but bushings, actuators, sensors and the like could be a real concern.
And that’s a shame, as these cars were very, very good.
These cars deprecated more than the Supra and RX crowd probably due to their complexity and reliability. I remember doing a timing belt on one. Ranked up the on the PITA scale. Looks like they are finally going traction on resale. My friend sold his about a year and a half ago for 35K which I thought was pretty good. Will be curious to see if it will break the 30K barrier.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1995-mitsubishi-3000gt-vr4-8/
Lots of earlier comments here on BF that it is very difficult to find someone willing to work on them. So, not only complex but real trouble if things break. With earlier ‘old car’ purchases (Supras, RX7, ah Fiats), I thought nothing of it, but now? Lots of thoughts.
Nice one, Jeff! I nearly snagged one of these from the original owner years ago. He had it built to about 400 HP and it was immaculate, with a turbo timer and other gizmos. He wasn’t quite ready to sell, but was thinking about $3k to $4k. Fast forward a few years and it was gone – for $500. Doh! Anyway they are neat cars. I believe they were one of the first cars that John Hennessey tuned for profit. Thanks for shining some light on this one!
My wife wanted one of these back in the day but she ultimately settled on something else. I was going to try and buy it and give it to her for her upcoming birthday however the bidding has gone beyond what I thought it was worth it will be interesting to see the final sale price.
When these came out I saw a Red one going the other
way on Highway 101.In that color it really caught your eye.
It kind of cracked me up that it was called a “Stealth”.
The poor 3000GT VR-4. There is a reason it is unpopular. There is a reason why there is very little interest in it. This very article helps explain why. More time and attention was spent writing about the Mazda RX7 and the Toyota Supra more than this Mitsubishi.
My friend has a ’91? Stealth twin turbo and,
I believe, all wheel drive. Put in a 5spd which
aids the fun factor. Actually a very quick and
stable vehicle. For some reason I think these
look better than his (green) Dodge.
One major PITA to work on and the rear wheel steering is impossible to fix properly, even with new parts. Beyond that they are fun to drive.
Ended at $21,500, Reserve Not Met.
As a retired auto shop owner, we tried to discourage people not to bring their car to our shop just for tune ups! The V-6 set up is just as bad as the Lexus RX-350! I liked to good handling this car has, too bad Mitsubishi didn’t bother to show interest in automobiles currently. Although they have a good presence in Asia.
we just sold an MR2 and those of this ilk I like a bit better (X 1/9, 911, fiero). I think, once the design was brought on the scene it really created change (see the modern offerings). Still, in daily format, I cant think of anything more fun in canyon carving. I thought frnt WD added something… these more so.
Imagine other entries in the budget RMR category: a 2023 KarmenGhia, Miata, fiat 850 – that the majority of us could do grocery shopping or wrk commute with (I’d sure go SCCA’ing on my week ends)!