Revisiting the Mitsubishi Starion 4WD

After talking about the Mitsubishi Galant AMG and the Lancer Evolution , it only feels right to revisit the Mitsubishi Starion 4WD. Highly sought after back in the day, the Mitsubishi Starion 4WD was the car that was never meant to be. After the Lancer Evolution won the World Rally Championship (WRC) for four years running, Ralliart decided to get back to work to making an even better rally car racer, a coupe that would be a part of a collective called “Group B rally”, known as rally cars that were some of the fastest, most powerful, and most sophisticated rally cars ever manufactured. However, the popularity for Group B cars took a dark turn after an accident during the Tour de Corse rally in 1986. For some reason, Mitsubishi Motors showed us the concept art for the Starion 4WD , and one still hopes that the rally car days are not completely over.

We talked a little about this with our piece on the Lancer Evolution. Although the last Lancer Evolition was auctioned off in America on eBay in 2016, and a special Tommi Makinen Edition was auctioned off in 2021 in Europe , Mitsubishi has rumored the return of the EVO nameplate, the same one that made the Lancer so famous and popular among rally car racers. Brought to life by Mitsubishi Motors’ Ralliart team , the high-performance team dedicated to some of its well-known racing vehicles, the EVO nameplate could make a comeback with the e-Evolution concept . There has been very little talk of it since it was first revealed, so there’s no guarantee Mitsubishi is still focused on high-performance vehicles, and may be focusing strictly on electric vehicles (EVs).

Like the Lancer Evolution, the Starion 4WD was also being built by Ralliart as the next high-performance vehicle to be submitted by Mitsubishi in the WRC. In fact, not only was Ralliart working on high-performance vehicles for the automaker, but what made the Lancer EVO beloved by many was the high-performance parts by Ralliart that were made available to the public for modding their own vehicles. The Starion 4WD was the next vehicle on the list to break into the racing industry and maybe one day the public market. However, after the fatality in 1986, the concept was scratched for the WRC and retail. So, when Mitsubishi revealed the concept art, there was a lot of hope that the Starion 4WD would be the return of the Lancer for the automaker.

Powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine estimated to generate up to 350 horsepower, the Starion 4WD was also set to have its own EVO nameplate with a larger 2.14-liter engine. With today’s modern technology for engineering and the heights some automakers have reached, there is still a possibility that we’ll see an all-electric vehicle that can race against some of the best sports cars on the market today. Mitsubishi Motors seems locked into SUVs in the North American market, but overseas, there is a lot more going on. The e-Evolution was pitched as a high-performance all-electric crossover, but here’s hoping for a return of the Mitsubishi coupe like the Starion 4WD.Curious about what Mitsubishi Motors is working on? Find out what happens next when you follow us on Miami Lakes Mitsubishi social media .

Photo Source/Copyright: Mitsubishi Motors

Previous Post A Look At Mitsubishi Rally Car History with the Lancer Evolution Next Post A Look Back at the Mitsubishi Eclipse