1997 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 in Amelia Island, Florida

Chassis No. JA3AN74K9VY003139

The 1990s were good for Mitsubishi. The Japanese manufacturer captured four straight WRC driver's titles, a constructor's championship, and like their compatriots at Honda, Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan, were riding a wave of economic prosperity and sales records. The resulting passion projects were world-class, technology-laden sports cars engineered and built at a breakneck pace. The 3000GT VR-4 was the dark horse among them, yet it shouldn't have been. The 2+2 GT featured a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 320 horsepower by 1997, full-time all-wheel drive, and four-wheel steering. It could rocket from zero to 60 in 4.8 seconds and trip the quarter mile marker in 13.6. In a period Motor Trend handling test, reviewers noted that "if Hustled hard, the big Mitsubishi will drift its rear" and that it "delivers its front occupants in comfort and with absolute confidence no matter what the conditions."

For 1997 it is said that only 510 3000GT VR-4s made their way to the United States. Of those, only 71 were specified in the rare shade of Panama Green Pearl just as the car on offer is finished. It is further complemented with a Tan leather interior and a tremendous amount of luxurious and sporting standard equipment like seven-way power adjustable front seats, an eight-speaker audio system, 18-inch chrome plated wheels, a stainless steel exhaust system, and four-wheel vented disc brakes. According to the original window sticker this VR-4 was sold through Lancaster Mitsubishi of East Petersburg, Pennsylvania on 29 August 1997 as noted by the sales contact. Clearly a special car, it remained a long-term original-owner example until 2020, retaining all manner of original items including its books, window sticker, and service paperwork dating back to 1998. Perhaps even more impressive than its rare specification, irreplicable documentation, and long-term ownership, is its low mileage over the past 27 years. Most recently, the consignor notes a service conducted in April of 2023 that included a new timing belt and water pump, fresh coolant, new transmission and rear differential fluids, a brake fluid flush, and an oil change.

Mitsubishi's rare and powerful twin-turbo, all-wheel drive sportscar is no longer a "future classic," its time is now. Few remain in such excellent condition and this collector grade example with its clean CARFAX should be the future yardstick by which all other Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4s are measured.