In the early 1990’s, Japan was experiencing a massive economic boom. Japanese car manufacturers were engaged in an intense head-to-head competition to see who could make the best affordable sports car. Top engineers were busy pushing the limits of what a production car could be, and this feud provided the world with some of the most iconic vehicles ever produced. Mitsubishi was one manufacturer at the forefront of it all, and the vehicle you see above is none other than their iconic GTO. The GTO, or 3000GT as it was known in the USA, was Mitsubishi’s halo car, and this 1994 model year example was optioned in top of the line “VR4” trim. The VR4 was equipped from the factory with Mitsubishi’s 3.0l 6G72 V6, with a couple turbochargers added on for extra “oomph.” This bumped factory horsepower up to 320, with a top speed of around 155 mph. Paired to a 6-speed manual transmission, and AWD drivetrain, this thing is dangerously quick in its factory form. This car received a grade 4 at the Japanese auctions for a reason. Finished in a lovely coat of Mitsubishi Glacier White pearl (w65) the paintwork on this car is in excellent shape, with no scratches or dents to be found. 1994 marked the first year of the facelift model GTO, with fixed projector headlights replacing the dated pop up units on earlier models. The exterior is clean, sleek, and even features a functional active front and rear spoiler. One cool feature is the OEM glass roof, that conveniently pops up via a roof mounted crank in the interior! Purists will be happy to see that the exterior has remained bone stock, even down to the original 5 spoke alloys. Swing open the large coupe doors and you’re greeted with an interior chock full of more features than most cars available on the market today! The amount of technology in this thing is seriously impressive, and the previous owner clearly took great care in making sure this 28 year old interior remained in great shape! The power seats are finished in a clean grey cloth, with no rips, tears or burns to be found. The driver’s seat even has power bolster adjustment! The dash and other interior plastic are free of cracks and sun fading, and all buttons and switches work as expected, down to the fully automatic digital climate control display. A trio of original boost, water temp, and oil pressure gauges sit in the center stack and are fully functional. The factory steering wheel leather is soft and rip free, and the audio steering wheel controls still work with the original head unit! Buttons to the left of the steering column activate factory electronic suspension, with both sport and touring modes, and the factory active exhaust. The OEM instrument cluster was swapped in favor of a 260k/h unit, so the 65,131 displayed kilometres are not actual. Records from auction indicate that the meter was replaced before export around 99,611 km, which equates to about 61k actual miles. The new mileage on the car is probably not too far off. Turn the key and the aforementioned twin turbo V6 powerplant roars to life. The engine is mostly stock, with only an aftermarket intake, HKS blow off valve, and Apexi exhaust installed to really make the 6G72 sing. Put the pedal to the floor and you can certainly feel all 320 horsepower kick in as you get thrown back into your seat. We have replaced the defective OEM crank pulley with a durable aftermarket aluminum unit. Shifts are smooth through the 6 speed AWD transmission and short gear ratios make this sport coupe a blast to drive around town or on backroads. The GTO is larger than one might expect, with a wide stance and average curb weight of about 3,700 lbs, but handling is quite nimble and the factory suspension and 4 wheel steering do a pretty great job of handling tight curves. If there was ever a car that perfectly described the Japanese bubble market, the Mitsubishi GTO would be the one, and this example is a twin turbocharged time-capsule perfect for transporting the owner to that iconic period in 90’s automotive history.