All Wheel Terror: 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Twin Turbo
The 3000GT VR4 was Mitsubishi’s entry into the Japanese supercar wars of the 1990s and it was a technological tour-de-force of turbochargers and traction. One turbo was not enough, so Mitsu used two, — two wheels putting power to the pavement wasn’t good enough, so they used four — two wheels steering, hah, steer with all four! Find this 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Twin Turbo here on eBay
offered for $11,750 buy-it-now located in El Paso, TX.
The 3000GT VR4 was a complicated beast, and maintenance of all those complex subsystems is certainly part of the reason they are so cheap…but if you are looking for classics from the 1990s that you should stockpile now for future appreciation, anything with a VR4 in its name should be on your list.
Powering the beast is a 3.0 liter Mitsubishi 6G72 V6 equipped with dual-over-head camshafts, 24-valves and two small turbochargers to produce 296 horsepower and 306 ft-lbs of torque. Compared to most other cars from 1992 it was fast in a straight line and handled decently well to boot.
See another 90s superclassic for cheap? tips@dailyturismo.com
A vehicle that was in many respects less than the sum of its parts?
The larger the AWD Mitsu, the less impressive it was.
Well put. On paper, these cars should be the coolest thing on the planet. They look great too (in an inflated matchbox car sort of way). I have never gotten near test-driving one, although there are always plenty of opportunities. The cheap prices that go along with low-mile examples spook me every time.
Needs more plumbing under the hood.
And of the Japanese supercar shootout of the early 90s, I ranked these about last – it could be that the Dodge Stealth school of body cladding bled over to this model.
The FD RX7 still makes my heart swoon.
The original NSX is truly Honda – just as much engine as you need and no more, combined with perfect balance.
The 300ZX TT was a clean design.
The 3000GT VR4 just has a few too many gewgaws attached to it.
Yeah, I know a couple ur-NSX owners who would part with their spouses before their Hondas.
You forgot the ten-pound sledgehammer in that field – the MkIV Supra Turbo. The NSX is the girl you were dancing with, the 2JZ-GTE Supra is the girl who grabbed you back by the restroom and had your pants off before you even got out the back door.
How could I forget her – now where are my pants?
I'd probably slot the MkIV turbo above the 300 but below the NSX.
I used to affectionately call these the 300,000GT because of the insane 3800lb curb weight. After having driven one I can see the appeal to a degree, but as stated above I'd take the others ahead of this one. The plastics are cheap and nasty to deal with and the complexity of working on a transverse twin turbo, ugh! I'd rather rebuild the 13b-REW every year.
FD3S
NSX
Skyline
MR2 (Gen II)
300zx (I love the cabin on those)
Supra (god they're ugly)
and the 300,000GT dead last.
To quote everyone's favorite HR closet drifter: holy shitsnacks. Drew, Zach, mrkwong- y'all are in my head this evening…and I like it. Laugh out loud funny stuff, all.