Why we’ll miss Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi is pulling out of Europe. Here’s why we’ll miss it.

Mitsubishi is pulling out of Europe, having frozen the introduction of new models here. In so doing, it’s pulled the rug out from under the Colt Car Company, the brand’s UK importer which must now seek new, emerging brands to work with. Japan’s 1m-selling global minnow now plans to focus on Asia, with a rationalised range of utility vehicles and a tiny electric kei car co-developed with Nissan. Young readers will shrug their shoulders, but before the brand went bland, Mitsubishi gave us these stellar moments in its 46 years here.

EVO: RALLYING ON THE RING ROAD

The Lancer Evolution series took the brand to new levels of searing performance and motorsport kudos. Mitsubishi made 10 generations in just 15 years. All employed the same turbocharged 2.0-litre/ all-wheel drive formula. Tommi Mäkinen won the World Rally Championship four years in a row with the III to VI series cars, and the homologation-spec road cars tempted a generation to do the school run like getaway drivers.

PAJERO: TOP ’GUN

Mitsubishi says it’s one of only three truly authentic SUV makers (alongside Jeep and Land Rover), and here’s a key reason why: the Pajero. Called Shogun over here, the body-on-frame 4x4 had plenty of o -road prowess thanks to selectable all-wheel drive and high- and low-range gears. Won the Dakar Rally in ’85, the first of the car’s 12 overall victories.

STARION: PERFORMANCE FOR THE MASSES

Minecraft styling betrays its ’80s origin, with the two-door, reardrive coupe beating the Toyota MR-2 to market by a couple of years. Choice of two turbo, fourpot engines (with lashings of lag): a 178bhp 2.0-litre and a 2.6-litre which necessitated a wider track and wider body, 911-style.

3000GT: TECHNOLOGICAL TOUR DE FORCE

Mitsubishi made its first allwheel-drive car in 1936, and 54 years later the 3000GT coupe followed suit. But the spec got more complicated from there: four-wheel steering, active rear spoiler, adaptive damping and a twin-turbocharged V6. CAR’s testers weren’t blown away…

OUTLANDER: THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE PHEV

And then Mitsubishi went electric, blooding its pure electric drivetrain on the i-MiEV city car before upgrading it to twin motors and pairing it with a petrol engine to create 2012’s Outlander plug-in hybrid 4x4, years ahead of rivals. The world’s best-selling plug-in hybrid.