Mitsubishi

The name Mitsubishi dates back to the late 1800s, while the red three diamond logo represents a propeller to remind us Mitsubishi made some of the most potent World War Two fighter aircraft such as the Zero. In the postwar period Mitsubishi re-invented itself as an automobile manufacturer that gave us a range of cheap, reliable and well made four cylinder cars such as the Colt and Galant.

From the late 1960s the company became involved in rallying and have since built up a formidable reputation, winning 34 world rallies from 1974 until 2002. From 1995 to 2001 it won seven Group N Production car rallies with the legendary Lancer Evolution.

Here we look at some of their best selling cars from the 1960s to the 1980s including the Galant, Colt, Sigma, Scorpion and Lancer. Mitsubishi re-introduced cheap performance to the world in 1983 with the Cordia Turbo hatchback, while for those who wanted something more exotic the sporty Starion was also available as a turbocharged performance car.

One thing to note - in the 1970s and early ‘80s Mitsubishi cars were often sold under various marques due to the ‘Diamond Star Alliance’ with Chrysler. In Australia, until 1981 Mitsubishis were sold as Chrysler’s while in the US they appeared with both Plymouth and Dodge name plates.