It’s the car that put Mitsubishi on the map for the tuning, racing, and enthusiast community. The car that paved the way for the invasion of performance all-wheel drive cars from Japan, and proved that high performance wasn’t solely the domain of the more expensive sportscars. The Eclipse wasn’t the first to do a lot of things, but it brings them together in a unique and affordable package with few contemporary equals. Under the signature offset hood bump is the legendary 4G63 engine, sporting all manner of technology and fed by a turbocharger to provide 210 horsepower. Capable of stratospheric output when tuned for street or competition use, it meshes well with the similarly race-developed all-wheel drive system. From behind the wheel, looking out over the driver-focused dash, the Eclipse pulls eagerly at a stab of the throttle and tackles corners with aplomb, even bone stock. Of course, any import enthusiast will be drawn to all the options to tweak and tune the Eclipse to be the ultimate expression of your driving style. Whether it’s bone stock or heavily modified, the Eclipse provides something for everybody, and that’s one reason why it was so wildly successful.
