1982-85 MITSUBISHI STARION JA-JB

When turbocharging engines became the rage in t he early 80s, Mitsubishi was ‘Johnny on t he spot’ wit h its angular 2+2 GT Starion coupe.

It wasn’t wit h us for long, just f ive years from 1982 to 1987 (JA1982-84, JB 84-85 & JD 85-87)and didn’t sell in huge quantities, but was considered a head of its time in some ways wit h its single turbocharger bolted to an electronica lly f uel-injected 2-litre single-cam engine producing 125kW and 245Nm.

The Starion’s rear-drive platform included MacPherson struts up front and a four-link independent, coil-sprung rear plus an optiona l limited-slip dif ferentia l t hat toget her endowed it wit h a sense of sport y handling. It a lso had disc bra kes at both ends but the package was let down by its vague recirculating-ball steering.

The angular t heme inf iltrated t he interior which was considered bland and t he colour-coded plastics britt le and shiny. It a lso lacked much room for rear seat dwellers, but was comf y enough up front. A novelt y was the door-mounted seatbelts.

Coinciding wit h t he arriva l of t he Starion was a resurgence in production car racing and it was in t his arena that the blow n Mitsubishi shone.

Race ace Kev in Bart lett led Mitsubishi’s f irst Bathurst assault in 1984 followed by t he Austra lian Touring Car championship in 1985. Bart lett once claimed t hat given t he budget and development time, the Starion could have been a genuine riva l to t he Ford Sierra Cosworth.

In t he era of Group A touring cars t he Starion placed f ift h outright at Bathurst in 1987 and scooped up t he Austra lian production car tit le t he same year.

The urban myth has the name Starion as a Japlish attempt at t he word Sta llion. Not so, say Mitsubishi folk, who claim the name blended the words “Star” and “Orion”.