Mitsubishi Starion | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Motors |
Also called | Mitsubishi Colt Starion Chrysler Conquest Dodge Conquest Plymouth Conquest |
Production | 1982–1989 |
Model years | 1983-1989 |
Assembly | Okazaki, Aichi, Japan (Nagoya Plant) Japan |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Sports car |
Body style | 3-door coupé |
Platform | FR layout |
Powertrain | |
Engine |
4G63 2.0 L I4 4G54 2.6 L I4 |
Transmission | 5-speed manual 4-speed automatic |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 2,435 mm (95.9 in) |
Length | 4,410 mm (173.6 in) (1982–87) 4,400 mm (173.2 in) (1988–90) |
Width | 1,685 mm (66.3 in) (narrowbody) 1,745 mm (68.7 in) (widebody) 1,735 mm (68.3 in) (1988–89) |
Height | 1,320 mm (52.0 in) (1982–87) 1,275 mm (50.2 in) (1988–89) |
Curb weight | 1,260 kg (2,780 lb) (narrowbody) 1,340 kg (2,950 lb) (widebody) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Mitsubishi Galant Lambda GSR |
Successor |
Mitsubishi GTO/Dodge Stealth Plymouth Laser/Eagle Talon Mitsubishi Eclipse |
The Starion is a two-door, turbocharged four-cylinder rear-wheel drive four-seat hatchback sports car that was manufactured and marketed by Mitsubishi for model years 1982 to 1989. Rebadged variants were marketed in North America as the Conquest under the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth names.
The Starion is one of the first modern Japanese turbocharged performance automobiles to use electronic fuel injection.
Mitsubishi began marketing the Starion in 1982, during a period in which a number of Japanese grand tourer (GT) sports cars were available, including the Nissan Z cars, Mazda RX-7, Toyota Supra and to a lesser extent, the Honda Prelude and Isuzu Piazza.
The Starion was marketed in the US under Mitsubishi as the Starion and badge engineered variants of were marketed as the Dodge, Plymouth and Chrysler Conquest. In the UK it was sold as the Colt Starion.
Manufactured in two body configuration; a narrowbody and widebody, the narrower style complied with Japanese exterior dimension regulations taxing larger vehicles and engine displacement exceeding 2000cc. Only the narrowbody was offered through the 1985.5 model year.
The introduction of the widebody also split the car into two ranges: one a non-intercooled lower horsepower car using the narrow body style and a high-performance intercooled widebody. In most markets, widebody cars were given the label of Starion ESI-r or Conquest TSi. Markets that never received the widebody had the ESI-r label, these cars had similar performance as the widebodies. Widebody cars were offered in 1986-1989 model years in the US.