Mitsubishi Starion: Spotted
You just don't come across minty-clean, early, narrow-body Starions these days. Or do you?
Something something something mistranslation of the world 'stallion'. There, now we've got that out of the way, we can move on and discuss the Mitsubishi Starion without fear of such unsubstantiated balderdash rearing its head. (And in case, until now, you believed the above, the truth is that the word 'Starion' is a contraction of 'Star of Arion' - Arion being the horse of Hercules in Greek mythology. So now you know.)
Anyway, we are gathered here today to celebrate this delightful old Starion, which must be one of the earliest left in the UK, given that the car was launched in 1982, which is the exact year from which this example dates. Back then, the Turbo was the entry-level, non-intercooled version, so although its nomenclature sounds promising, it is in fact (whisper it) one of the least powerful Starions you can buy.
But let's not let that spoil our fun, eh? For early, low-spec narrow-body Starions like this one are rare, and to these eyes more accustomed as they are to wide-bodies with the bigger rear spoiler, it looks fantastic; a study in neat angularity and shorn of excessive frippery.
Under the bonnet sits an early version of the legendary 4G63 engine, the same that went on to power Lancer Evolutions of every flavour through the 1990s and 2000s, and even though it lacks an intercooler, it still kicks out 170hp. In a car this light, that makes for some very credible performance figures; think sub-7-second 0-60 time.
The Starion was pretty handy, too. Crisp turn-in and loads of grip made it a pleasure to hustle along, always backed by the punch of that engine; the exception to this being when conditions turned wet, at which point it could become something of a handful. Mind you, the same could be said for several other performance cars of its era, so in this the Starion was not alone.
This example's on for £6,450. Now, that isn't cheap, considering it wasn't so long ago that you could pick one of these up for buttons, but it does look to be a tidy and rare example of a cult classic. So while that price could probably do with a bit of a haggle, given the way 1980s cars are going, it isn't exactly exorbitant.
Besides, look at what you're getting. Dark blue gives the Starion a more sophisticated air than the usual bright red, and looks well with the pale grey leather inside. 96k is a tidy mileage for a car of this age, too, and from the sounds of things it's been well-maintained, the advert boasting of a whopping service history, a full MOT, and a recent service.
In short, this sounds like a very decent - and very desirable - way into 1980s classic motoring; just tidy enough to be truly special while not being so immaculate that it can't be brought out now and again for some fun. Just be prepared for the inevitable 'Have you heard why it's called that?' for the duration of your ownership.
SPECIFICATION - MITSUBISHI STARION TURBO
Engine: 1,997cc 4-cyl turbo
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 170@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 181@3,500rpm
First registered: 1982
Recorded mileage: 96,000
Price new: £13,549
Yours for: £6,450
See the original advert here
ks?They never sold many, and they suffered from terrible rust. I tried to buy a scruffy one in the early nineties and remember taking it for a test drive on wet roads and it was all over the road with power oversteer at low speed.
Some photos of Colin Blower and Andy McLennan doing a great job of winning from the front in group N.
They never sold many, and they suffered from terrible rust. I tried to buy a scruffy one in the early nineties and remember taking it for a test drive on wet roads and it was all over the road with power oversteer at low speed.
Some photos of Colin Blower and Andy McLennan doing a great job of winning from the front in group N.
They were a quick car for the time - rare too, I spent days researching in magazines etc to find what was quick, RWD and insurable.
I drove around 100 miles to buy mine and got caught speeding on the way there
IIRC the driving experience was nothing, nothing, nothing.... finally 4500rpm then it took off
The early 80 to 83 cars were all 2.0 non intercooled (shared the same engine across the Colt turbo range at the time, Sapporo, Galant and of course in my own Lancer Turbo). In 1985/6 a newer version came out, minus the vent in the bonnet but still a narrow body and fitted with the "red top" intercooled 4g63 engine. Incidentally, the vent served no purpose, it had a rubber shroud at the back of it blocking airflow.
In 1987/88 the wide body came out with the same red top 2.0 intercooled engine, albeit in small numbers, superceded by the 2.6 unleaded version which once all the emission stuff was stripped off could be tuned to give out some decent horsepower and had a mahoosive torque curve. Dave Green at Henstead motorsport was the guru on thses cars at the time.
Early Starions suffered from crappy brakes and sticky calipers, the turbo's would pack up as the IHI unit was oil cooled and never responded well to increased boost (attainable by the threaded actuator arm), the trick of the day for 200+ bhp was to dump the IHI unit for a Garrett T-3 with an adaptor plate, intercool it and do what was then called "chipping" or basically a remap by unsoldering the ECU chips and repalcing with a different one. They had a very early and crude ECU in the passenger side which controlled fuelling via the ECI, which was actually 2 injectors feeding a plenum chamber and not direct to port.
Rust, poor oil and inadequte servicing were the main enemy of the Starion, drivetrain gearbox etc were fairly good if cared for. They all had LSD's as well.
I know the part history of the one in the OP, it has had a respray but not to fantastic standards, but otherwise it has had a lot of new parts replaced, I think it spent some of it's life in Ipswich as I have seen it around in the past.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff