1998 Mitsubishi 3000GT Twin Turbo 3 Litre V6 quad overhead cam twin turbo from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Without equal
Faults:
Active aero jammed (a common, and easily curable, issue with this model)
Aside from that the mechanicals are built well and strong. The only issues are slight niggles. The handbrake light flicks on and off, and that's pretty much it.
I drive it to work every day, and can honestly say I punish this car as if it was a rental. Yet, it just laughs it off. THIS is how cars should be built.
General Comments:
I have a 98 3000GT Twin Turbo. Got the dyno sheet reporting 320bhp with 325lb/ft of torque. It's totally stock aside from a complete stainless steel exhaust system, which is actually cheaper than the OEM when it comes time to replace. This is the most awesome car I have ever owned.
The acceleration, even from over 120mph, is absolutely devastating! From 0 this car will pin you to your seat right up to 80mph. The short stroke V6 engine picks up speed remarkably fast, and the turbos spool up at just 2500rpm. There is plenty of torque even before the turbines pick up speed, so you don't notice the lag too much.
Combine that with the sound of the turbos spooling, and the wastegate blowing off at the gear change and you have an incomprehensible driving experience. I have thought about selling mine many times (I rarely keep a car for longer than 6 months. Always looking for a change), and all it takes is to turn a corner and find a bit of quiet open road, putting the foot down from first gear. THAT feeling makes you fall in love with this machine all over again.
The 4wheel drive runs through a viscous coupled LSD, and all 4 wheels are steered once you go over 30mph. Handling is very good for a car weighing 1,750kg, but overall it can lurch a little on corners if you're going fast enough. This can be cured by hitting the ACS button to stiffen the suspension. The car COG is very low however, and the cornering is extremely good. There is not much that can match its ability, short of small track cars.
The interior is very simple dark leather, but very nice. The seats could be a little more comfortable, but mine do have 90k on them. Rear seats are little more than a gesture or a place to throw used parking tickets.
Cars of this size and this weight are rarely so responsive, and in fact few cars ever made can match the performance of this beast. Those that can cost far far more, and in all likelihood aren't as rugged. This was Mitsubishi's flagship car for almost a decade, and it is EVERY ounce a supercar. The company's GT space is now vacant. That's a shame because it is clear they know how to make an superlatively powerful, fast, nimble and exotic machine.
I absolutely recommend it, the only problem you will have is wondering where you go from here!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 7th March, 2009
29th May 2009, 10:00
Good review. However while your review does the car justice mechanically now, you may want to write another one when things do start failing. They don't call it Mitsubishi 3000 for no reason... it's mostly due to the fact that most things cost 3000 dollars to fix.
I had its cousin for 2 years, a 1994 Dodge Stealth TT, and while the car is mind blowing, the expensive parts + complicated engine layout + lots of things that can go wrong means that once things start going wrong, there will be hell to pay. Example - 20 dollar rubber gasket that was letting outside air in to the engine cost 600 dollars to repair due to labor.
14th Mar 2010, 14:22
I agree, factory parts are very expensive indeed. This probably has a lot to do with how few are available, and how few of them are sitting on a shelf outside of Japan.
That said, if you are willing to take on repairs yourself, you can get around these sort of expenses. I have had a few troubles since I wrote the above review.
1 was the A/C compressor, which was grinding its bearings. £1000 replacement they said! No-Way!
I removed the unit and pipework and modified the alternator position to run on a shorter belt. Total cost - £18 for the belt.
They won't all be like this, but when you can do it yourself then you should. Otherwise they should have called this the Mitsubishi 1million GT!
7th Jul 2010, 02:56
We are blessed in NZ. The parts are not that expensive to buy.
But that aside, to have to fix the car up would mean that it has not been looked after and/or not serviced.
29th May 2009, 00:50
You've done this car proper justice writing that review.
I have a 1999 Mitsubishi GTO which is the same car and I second everything said here. I've had 6 cars in 4 years and somehow kept this the longest!