Shed Of The Week: Mitsubishi FTO
Well as we're celebrating rare 90s coupes this week, here's one that falls into Shed's clutches
Slightly annoyingly, the FTO was a front-wheel drive car, a dull fact that Mitsubishi wanted to disguise by adding a whiff of Latin excitement to the name. FTO sounds quite like GTO, which is good, but the letters actually stand for Fresco Turismo Omologato, which literally means Fresh Touring Origination or, as some of us might describe it, nothing.
Despite this dodgy genesis the FTO was Japan's car of the year in 1994/95. Two decades on, the FTO has lost much of the excitement that greeted its semi-official entry into the British market via Mitsubishi UK's Red Zebra scheme back in whenever that was, 1996 or thereabouts.
But might there be some sort of FTO second wind for those examples that have survived? Should we be paying them a bit more attention as they Flee The Orb?
After all, from the back end the FTO has an Alfa GTV look about it, which is vaguely interesting as both cars were launched in 1994 so there can't have been any copying going on. The front end is a bit more Mazda MX-3-ish. That's more interesting as the Mazda coupe (released in 1991) predated the FTO in offering a twin-cam 24-valve V6 engine of small capacity, a popular dodge back then to get around Japanese taxation burdens on bigger cars.
Whereas the Mazda's six was a titchy 1.8 litres, the Mitsu's was a slightly less titchy 2.0 litres and came in MIVEC or non-MIVEC variants. MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control) is Mitsubishi's version of VTEC, albeit one that doesn't generate quite such a high-rev whizz. It doesn't enjoy the same street-cred as the Honda system for that reason, but that doesn't mean it's not a good one in its own right.
The MIVEC FTO pushed out 197hp at 7,500rpm. In the absence of any claims to the contrary or any pics of the engine, we're assuming the car you're looking at here is a non-MIVEC GR, which would put its horsepower at a still healthy 168hp, its 0-60 at 7.9sec and its top end at 136mph. Our Shed would also have single-piston front brake calipers rather than the twin-pot ones on the MIVEC.
This particular car has been in the UK for the last ten years. Judging by the murky photography, the vendor is clearly a fan of Swedish crime programmes, but there's no getting away from the fact that it's a well-used example. There are some nasties here, principally a centre console that looks as if Mrs Shed might have been using it as a genital topiary footrest. But there are also a few nice things about our Shed.
One is that it's a manual. Many FTOs weren't. The other bit of niceness is the story told by the MOT records. There's a lack of clarity as to whether our Shed has covered miles or kilometres. From a geographic and possibly philosophical viewpoint it's done both. The vendor tells us what we want to hear, i.e. that it's metric not imperial, but forget that and concentrate instead on the overall picture, which is a heartening Shedly yarn of money poured in for your benefit.
The car seems to have been off the road from 2009 to 2010. On returning to the fold it unsurprisingly failed its test, although only for a major exhaust blow. Mind you, that 2010 ticket came with advisories on pretty much the entire suspension system. These were comprehensively addressed a year later.
In spring 2013 the inspector noticed slight corrosion to the vehicle structure and to the o/s rear suspension mount point, but again these were advisory items and there's been no mention of either since. That exhaust problem resurfaced in 2014 and was mended. The brake pipes were replaced last year.
Next summer's test might involve new tyres, as tread cracking was noted this year, but other than that you might not have too much to do apart from enjoy the fruity rasp of the jewel-like and yet pleasingly robust V6. Non-MIVEC cars have a better rep for oil-tightness than the MIVEC ones, and the tappetiness they display from cold usually goes away with warmth. MIVEC valve clearances have to be adjusted manually too, so that's another tick for our Shed's everyday usability.
Idling problems are pretty common whatever FTO you have, usually caused by a faulty idle speed control valve. Throttle bodies can demand attention and the battery is too small for the car so it needs to be fresh. The alternator is weedy too.
If the miles are as stated the belts will need changing about now (100,000km). They're interference type and there are a lot of valves to bend.
Only the GPX Limited Edition cars had an LSD as standard, so don't expect WRC-level handling. A lot of acronyms flying about the place here, but if you don't like them you can always FRO.
Mitsubishi fto 2.0L V6 manual mot till June 2017 mechanically sound interior is a bit tatty plastic around the radio all cracked and drivers seat worn exterior has few dents but not bad for year. Working electric windows, mirrors. Some buttons on the climate control don't work but temp control and demist and heated rear window do work. Only 105k km so about 65000 miles from new
This one is no different.
I remember it seeming quick, and the noise it made being pleasant, but the tiptronic box was crap and very slow.
This was over ten years ago, and I bet it's off the road now.
Given how many were around, it would pay to be picky, as I bet the prices are all fairly similar.
Have to admit to loving the GPvR we had, but it had a manual gearbox and I never had the misfortune of driving the auto boxed cars which seem to outnumber manuals, and are poor licensed Porsche tip-tronic with early cars having only 4 gears which was never going to work well with a high revving n/a car.
Fun video from Best Motoring with GPvR, Integra Type-R, Prelude and Fiat Coupe https://youtu.be/7Th5D8WW07U
This one is no different.
They are meant to be fantastic handler for FWD, but they were oddball in the late nineties, not sure who the hell would want one now ? that said, probably not a bad runabout.
This one is no different.
If this was a nicer example it might be quite tempting, but this one looks just a bit too tatty. Shame really, as these were quite an attractive design.
Sometimes Mitsubishi reminds me a bit of the low quality crap that Rootes/Chrysler UK and Vauxhall were making in the 70s. None of that lasted very well either.
950 quid is way too much for this pile of junk.
Just picked this up last weekend, it's a GP version R with the LSD, manual box etc (and no rust!!!). Four-hour drive home in it was enjoyable enough, seems well-screwed together and the engine has a nice note to it. Road-holding is very good even in the wet, the diff certainly seems to help here as you can really throw it into/out of the corners and it just keeps gripping. There are a lot of ropy ones out there though, definitely worth checking the MOT history as even the ones that look good externally seem to be hiding all sorts of corrosion underneath and around the suspension mounts/turrets.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff