With its four-wheel steering, four-wheel drive, electronically controlled damping and a twin-turbocharged 24-valve 3.0L V6 under a sculpted hood, came a sports car that surprised the greats. When tested, contemporary editorials were flabbergasted. They went on to describe the car, referred to as the GTO, as a grand tourer which cannot be unsettled. The final package was this, the Shogun 3000GT VR-4 by Mitsubishi.

Following the unveiling of the HSR and HSX concept cars at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show, Mitsubishi went on to debut their production GTO. The stylish coupe, cut as a 2+2 grand tourer, was designed and intended to compete nationally with the Nissan 300ZX and Toyota Supra. Although globally known as the GTO, the car is best known stateside as the 3000GT. When introduced in 1990, Mitsubishi described their new tourer as a, “new age super four-wheel drive sports car”. Its brutal acceleration and AWD grip was praised from the start. From a standstill, Car & Driver quoted 0-60 acceleration times of sub 5 seconds.

Face-lifted in 1994, the falling from fashion pop-up lamps were exchanged for a fixed unit. Power in the motor now became 296bhp (in VR-4 form) and the manual gear box gained a gear, now 6. A brake redesign was all so integrated- 2 pot rear calipers and larger front brakes came in tidy the fading from earlier models. The redesign was well received. A now fully evolved form, the VR-4 ticked all the boxes that mattered.

This example, chassis VY003139, is truly unbelievable. It is finished in Panama Green Metallic over Tan leather interior and carries a startling low 7,300 miles. The paint is breathtaking and the interior has seldom seen the light of day. It’s ownership history is simple- sold new at Lancaster Mitsubishi in E. Petersburg, PA, it has remained over the quarter century in the hands of its original owner. The original owner collected the car in the summer of 1997. This example is complete with its original service booklet with dealer stamps, manuals, accessory booklets, window sticker and original Mitsubishi radio. We’ve learned upon inspection of the paperwork, to fund the endeavor, our original owner traded in their Acura Legend- a superb sedan. Equally as impressive as the sales documentation are the unbroken maintenance records from 1998 onwards. Simply put, if something needed fixing, it got fixed. Copies of all available records can be found above by clicking the “View Documents” button. 

The 3000GT VR-4: a luxurious and handsome GT 2+2 that delivers its occupants in comfort with absolute confidence. Seldom are sports cars from Japan rated and held in regard alongside their contemporaries from North America and especially those from Europe. By the time the face-lifted Mark 2 variant arrived to our shores sales slowed to a trickle, until eventually ceasing outright by 1999. Only a handful of these cars ever made it to the US market: the survival rate, accounting for inevitable wastage from overzealous enjoyment is sure to be a relatively modest sum. They are eminently collectable and a future classic indeed. The laws of attrition have worked favorably for these cars, and there aren’t many good ones left. The example on offer is undoubtedly the best we have seen, finished in a very rare color combination and remains an investment grade example if there was ever to be one.