The Forgotten Mitsubishi That Just Joined The Six-Figure Club
The world of classic cars and modern classics often ends up being full of hidden gems. These forgotten cars may get overlooked initially, but they often eventually end up cresting the same wave of desirability as their more famous peers with due time. That’s certainly the case for the car we’re going to be talking about today.
’90s Classics Are Starting To Become Incredibly Valuable
Now that the earliest ’90s cars are now over 30 years old, plenty of them are starting to fall into proper classic territory. That means that they’re starting to become genuine collector’s pieces, with real investment potential. Of course, the most valuable and desirable models include Sports Cars and Supercars from legendary brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini. But, there are models from slightly more ‘ordinary’ manufacturers that are becoming genuinely collectible too.
Some Of The Most Valuable ’90s Classics Are The Legendary Japanese Sports Cars
Out of the incredibly desirable and valuable ’90s sports cars, the ones put up at the top of that tree have to be the Japanese sports cars from that era. People put these Japanese modern classics on a pedestal above all else, and it’s really not surprising. These cars were at the forefront of technology, had incredible performance for what they were from the factory, and can easily be tuned to produce insane power figures.
Everyone knows about cars like the A80 Toyota Supra Turbo, the Nissan 300ZX Twin-Turbo and the various generations of the Nissan Skyline GT-R that were produced during the ’90s. But, there’s one hidden gem that not everyone knows about that’s started to gain serious clout with collectors. It was a contemporary Japanese rival to those cars we’ve already mentioned. But, up until now, it always ended up getting forgotten. That’s even though it was arguably cooler and more advanced than any of its rivals!
The 3000GT VR-4 Is Mitsubishi’s Forgotten Flagship
The Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 is a top-of-the-line ’90s Japanese sports car that’s flown under the radar for some time. But, with the increased attention towards those ’90s Japanese legends, it’s finally having its time in the sun. The VR-4 variant first appeared right at the start of the 3000GT’s production in 1990. It has a twin-turbocharged version of Mitsubishi’s 6G72 V6, and initially produced 300 horsepower and 308 lb-ft of torque in North American-spec cars. That increased to 320 horsepower and 315 lb-ft of torque when the Series 2 version was introduced in 1994, and this stayed the same for the Series 3 cars when they were introduced in 1997. The final 3000GT VR-4s were produced when the model’s production ended in 2000 – it was exclusive to the Japanese market for that final model year, too.
It Was Incredibly Advanced For Its Time
If people do know about this top-of-the-tree Mitsubishi, they usually do because it was incredibly advanced for its time. Two of the most advanced features the 3000GT VR-4 had were all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and active aerodynamics. While these features are more and more common on sports cars and supercars now, back in the ’90s they were incredibly exotic. Not even the most expensive supercars had them!
It Was Also Rebadged Into A Dodge
Many North American enthusiasts may have already known about the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4. They just may not have realized that it was a Mitsubishi. That’s because, for a time, Chrysler badge-engineered it as part of its partnership with Mitsubishi and sold it as a Dodge! The Dodge Stealth R/T Twin-Turbo is exactly the same car as the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, and that included that great powertrain and the fancy technology. Both cars were even sold alongside each other in North America! The Dodge Stealth’s production ended when Mitsubishi switched to the Series 3 version of the 3000GT, leaving Mitsubishi’s original version as the only one that was sold in North America.
Immaculate Examples Are Selling For Six-Figure Sums
There was once a time where, because it was barely known, you could pick up a Misubishi 3000GT VR-4 for peanuts. Now that it’s finally getting recognition, though, that’s no longer the case. In fact, several examples have gone for the same kind of money as A80 Toyota Supras and R32/R33/R34 Nissan Skyline GT-Rs! One 1999 example with just 248 miles on the clock sold for $121,999 earlier this year, while another example from the same year with even less miles on the clock (168) sold for $100,499 in 2022. A 25,000 mile 1999 example also ended up selling for $56,111 in 2025. That’s a fair bit more than the average value projected for a good example from 1999 (around $36,100). But, that average value is still on the higher side for a modern classic sports car.
What Does This Mean For The Market For ’90s Japanese Coupes?
With even the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 becoming an expensive collector’s piece now, what does this mean for the market for these ’90s Japanese coupes? Well, the main thing it means is that regular enthusiasts can no longer afford them. The people who bought these cars during the time they were still cheap are incredibly lucky, as they’re now sitting on a goldmine. That’s especially the case if they’ve got an example that’s in need of some TLC – a properly-done restoration could add much more value onto the car than what the work would actually cost. But, for everyone else, they’re going to have to shell out huge sums of money to have one of these in their garage.
Sources: Bring A Trailer, Dodge, Hagerty, Mitsubishi
Related posts
Latest Post
No Comments