Mitsubishi

Japan, 1917 – 1921; 1959 to date

(1) Mitsubishi Kobe Dockyard Works, Kobe, 1914 – 1921

(2) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Tokyo, 1959 – 1970

(3) Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Tokyo, 1970 to date

The Mitsubishi Model A of 1917 was one of the first commercially manufactured Japanese cars and was modelled on the Fiat. About twenty of these Mitsubishi cars were built and sold and experimenting continued with other Mitsubishi cars until 1921. Trucks and buses occupied most of the production of the Kobe works after this time and the Mitsubishi carfactories were converted to tank manufacture during World War 2.

In 1959 the reorganized Mitsubishi carcompany turned out its first private Mitsubishi car, the Mitsubishi 500. This Mitsubishi car was a small four-seater propelled by a 2-cylinder, 4-stroke ohv air-cooled engine of 20hp. Second and third gears were synchromesh and the clutch was a single dry-plate type. By 1966 the Mitsubishi car range included the 356cc Mitsubishi Minica 360 saloon with air-cooled 2-stroke 2-cylinder engine, backed by the Colt saloons, of which the smallest had fastback styling and was powered by a 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine of DKW type developing 41bhp. The larger 1000 and 1500 Mitsubishi Colts used oversquare pushrod 4-cylinder units, and front suspension on this Mitsubishi car was by coils and wishbones in place of the transverse-leaf independent front suspension of the smaller types. Biggest Mitsubishi car was the Mitsubishi Debonair, a 105bhp pushrod six with six-seater coachwork, four headlamps, and the choice of all-synchromesh or automatic gearboxes.

By 1970, when the Mitsubishi car division became a separate entity, the faster Minicas had 38bhp engines. The pushrod Colt Mitsubishi cars were also more powerful, with capacities of 1.088cc or 1.189cc, and there was a new range of Mitsubishi Colt Galants with overhead-camshaft engines. These last Mitsubishi car reached the American market in 1971 and were sold through the Dodge dealer network after Chrysler had acquired a 35 per cent intererest in Mitsubishi cars; at the same time the Mitsubishi Debonair received a new ohc power unit. In 1972 the Minica was still offered, a new variant Mitsubishi car being the Mitsubishi Skipper GT coupé with four headlamps. Pushrod Colts had bigger 1.4-litre engines, and the ohc 4-cylinder Mitsubishi cars embraced everything from simple 1.4-litre saloons up to the GTO-MR serie Mitsubishi cars, with twin-cam, twin-carburettor 1.597cc engine developing 125bhp, a 5-speed all-synchromesh gearbox, and servo-assisted front disc brakes. Mitsubishi cars have manufactured Jeep vehicles under licence since 1953.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; BE

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