Vehicle Description
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.