RE: Shed Of The Week: Mitsubishi FTO
Discussion
iva had 2 of these. first was a 95 GPX tiptronic with an HKS SuperDrager exhaust. great sounding car and not far off 200hp per ton. really nice cabin, good seats and an unusual image.
second was a Black 98 GPvR manual with huge Brembo's and contrasting red seats. it eventually rotted and fell to pieces. i loved that car! i still look for them for sale but theyre all dogs now.
the FTOOC as previously mentioned was a great OC i spent a good few nights on tunnel runs round London but then prices fell and they got picked apart by the chavs and too many were given Veilside and Bozzspeed body kits. they were never quick but looked unusual and sounded good.
silly prices to insure - always far more to insure than they should have been and servicing costs could be scary. my 2 spent a good amount of time down at Eurospec with Ben making sure it was as good as it could be.
the surprisingly common engine swap using the TT motor from the Galant meant that it was quite a weapon once finished.
second was a Black 98 GPvR manual with huge Brembo's and contrasting red seats. it eventually rotted and fell to pieces. i loved that car! i still look for them for sale but theyre all dogs now.
the FTOOC as previously mentioned was a great OC i spent a good few nights on tunnel runs round London but then prices fell and they got picked apart by the chavs and too many were given Veilside and Bozzspeed body kits. they were never quick but looked unusual and sounded good.
silly prices to insure - always far more to insure than they should have been and servicing costs could be scary. my 2 spent a good amount of time down at Eurospec with Ben making sure it was as good as it could be.
the surprisingly common engine swap using the TT motor from the Galant meant that it was quite a weapon once finished.
BigMacDaddy said:
Cheers - I can take no credit though as haven't owned it long enough to make any changes 
Must admit I was in two minds about having the carbon bonnet/boot panels sprayed white to match the rest of the shell, but in the flesh it actually looks quite good.
I quite like the carbon look. If they are real carbon panels I would leave them as is Must admit I was in two minds about having the carbon bonnet/boot panels sprayed white to match the rest of the shell, but in the flesh it actually looks quite good.
My brother used to have a non-Mivec, auto-box version of the FTO, which I drove a few times.
In its favour:-
It looked good (in a 90s sort of way)
It sounded good (when compared with the usual four-pot competition)
It handled well (for a FWD coupe)
Against:-
The lovely shiny red turned into a rather matte pink
The interior was very "of the era" Japanese (ie bland...)
Rear accommodation was pretty tight, even for kids
With stock wheels, it looked like it was running on furniture castors - a set of 17" alloys improved the look, but it needed lowering to look right.
It was tragically slow - had to be thrashed everywhere to make decent progress, which killed the economy
At the time, I was running a standard Fiat Coupe 20VT which absolutely obliterated the FTO in every way.
Like the Fiat, the FTO is Shed-fodder. Also like the Fiat, the FTO is now a rare sight and once the sheds have disappeared, there will be a modest number of very good ones left.
In its favour:-
It looked good (in a 90s sort of way)
It sounded good (when compared with the usual four-pot competition)
It handled well (for a FWD coupe)
Against:-
The lovely shiny red turned into a rather matte pink
The interior was very "of the era" Japanese (ie bland...)
Rear accommodation was pretty tight, even for kids
With stock wheels, it looked like it was running on furniture castors - a set of 17" alloys improved the look, but it needed lowering to look right.
It was tragically slow - had to be thrashed everywhere to make decent progress, which killed the economy
At the time, I was running a standard Fiat Coupe 20VT which absolutely obliterated the FTO in every way.
Like the Fiat, the FTO is Shed-fodder. Also like the Fiat, the FTO is now a rare sight and once the sheds have disappeared, there will be a modest number of very good ones left.
I've always liked these. I would have loved a manual MIVEC manual. I used to search the classifieds for them looking for one that wasn't a heap of s
t or a million miles away from me. I never found one though, as the majority of MIVECs seemed to be fitted with those awful Tiptronic 'boxes. A lot of nice Japanese coupes from the 90's are spoiled by automatic transmissions, probably because the burgeoning American market demanded it, as well as a preference for automatics in Australia, meaning these slopboxes went all round the world.
I very rarely see an FTO these days that doesn't look tired and knackered. They were rather unfairly maligned, I think.
t or a million miles away from me. I never found one though, as the majority of MIVECs seemed to be fitted with those awful Tiptronic 'boxes. A lot of nice Japanese coupes from the 90's are spoiled by automatic transmissions, probably because the burgeoning American market demanded it, as well as a preference for automatics in Australia, meaning these slopboxes went all round the world. I very rarely see an FTO these days that doesn't look tired and knackered. They were rather unfairly maligned, I think.
My mum had a white P-reg, non MiVec one when I passed my test at 17 in 2001. Better still I was insured to drive it!
Needless to say I lost my license due to the 6 point rule in the first 2 years, oddly not from driving my own Rover Metro, no all the points came in the FTO!
It was an auto and remember it being a dreadful gearbox, it also still had it's jap import limiter which kicked in at 110 (I never tested it, honest!).
Pulling up at college in it though when the rest were in Fiesta's and Corsa's was awesome
Needless to say I lost my license due to the 6 point rule in the first 2 years, oddly not from driving my own Rover Metro, no all the points came in the FTO!
It was an auto and remember it being a dreadful gearbox, it also still had it's jap import limiter which kicked in at 110 (I never tested it, honest!).
Pulling up at college in it though when the rest were in Fiesta's and Corsa's was awesome
Quite like the styling of the a stock FTO - although most are now looking a mess and Halforded out.
I would be put off this shed as that complete mess of a centre console would bother me everytime I looked at it. It would have to be replaced and I guess parts like that could be problem.
I would be put off this shed as that complete mess of a centre console would bother me everytime I looked at it. It would have to be replaced and I guess parts like that could be problem.
Hrimfaxi said:
Gran Turismo 1 (I think?) You could tune one of these to 900bhp..
I've always had a soft spot for the FTO, don't see many on the roads anymore. If it had been based around the Evo, it would have been fantastic - imagine an Evo's engine and running gear in one of these.
Ben and mark @eurospec built a 600hp FTO a few years back. It was a proper 1/4 mile machine. Spec here:I've always had a soft spot for the FTO, don't see many on the roads anymore. If it had been based around the Evo, it would have been fantastic - imagine an Evo's engine and running gear in one of these.
http://www.euro-spec2000.co.uk/Our-Cars/
Friend of mine had one, bought it in 2006 or so, serviced it well think it had around 200k miles on it, broke down once when the starter motor went.
Just kept it fairly stock, put new seat covers on, Mongoose exhaust, couple of other bits and a set of Evo 8 Enkeis.
Good car actually, not fast at all but good fun, just horrifically expensive to run vs what you got, wasn't great on fuel or insurance, and certain bespoke parts for it were vastly expensive, I remember ordering a balance pipe for the servo on it
Galant V6 was the same just different shape £23
FTO £146
I ended up with it for a bit and was tasked with selling it, sold it for more than it was worth, then struggled every day I saw it, guy who bought it covered it in stickers like "Mivec loading", "Mivec Inside", "Cya later" Halfords V6 badges, turned all the lights black on it, pulled original spoiler off and bolted a drift wing to it, torqued it up so much it creased and buckled the bootlid.
It was hard to see after being such a trusty car
Thankfully she has been scrapped now.
Just kept it fairly stock, put new seat covers on, Mongoose exhaust, couple of other bits and a set of Evo 8 Enkeis.
Good car actually, not fast at all but good fun, just horrifically expensive to run vs what you got, wasn't great on fuel or insurance, and certain bespoke parts for it were vastly expensive, I remember ordering a balance pipe for the servo on it
Galant V6 was the same just different shape £23
FTO £146
I ended up with it for a bit and was tasked with selling it, sold it for more than it was worth, then struggled every day I saw it, guy who bought it covered it in stickers like "Mivec loading", "Mivec Inside", "Cya later" Halfords V6 badges, turned all the lights black on it, pulled original spoiler off and bolted a drift wing to it, torqued it up so much it creased and buckled the bootlid.
It was hard to see after being such a trusty car
Thankfully she has been scrapped now.
Looked at getting one before my Honda as it ticked all the right boxes, Coupe with a revvy smooth engine and a good auto-box (By the days standards)
Then looked them up online and it was all the usual Mitsubishi intensive servicing that makes your wallet cry, very regular oil, trans fluid and valve adjustments. I looked at the price of all the usual consumables and was shocked. When I saw the spark plugs were different for each bank due to them being hard to get to I started to think Do I REALLY want a V6?
I'm glad I went with the Honda even if it's got nearly half the power
With the right stock bodykit the FTO is a beauty IMHO
Then looked them up online and it was all the usual Mitsubishi intensive servicing that makes your wallet cry, very regular oil, trans fluid and valve adjustments. I looked at the price of all the usual consumables and was shocked. When I saw the spark plugs were different for each bank due to them being hard to get to I started to think Do I REALLY want a V6?
I'm glad I went with the Honda even if it's got nearly half the power
With the right stock bodykit the FTO is a beauty IMHO
Olivera said:
benharris said:
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