As a play to compete against cars like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, the Galant was a logical next step. But that first front-drive Galant wasn't a car to get excited about, as it's big 2.4-liter, SOHC four produced a modest 101bhp, despite being fuel-injected. The larger Galant Sigma, sold alongside it from the 1988 model year, had a 142bhp, 3.0-liter SOHC V6 powering its front wheels and foreshadowed the direction in which the Galant would soon evolve.
As the 80s ended, Mitsubishi seemed on the verge of breaking out from the run-of-the-mill Japanese pack and defining itself as the builder of fun, truly high-performance machinery. In the 90s that promise was fulfilled. And betrayed.
The 90s
Mitsubishi leapt from backmarker to frontrunner in the race for enthusiasts' hearts and minds during the 1990 and 1991 model years. The reasons were the first-generation Eclipse and 3000GT sport machines, and a new, significantly better Galant.
The new Eclipse (and its twins, the Plymouth Laser and Eagle Talon) was the first product of Diamond Star Motors, a joint venture between Chrysler and Mitsubishi that resulted in a new assembly plant in Normal, Illinois. "Functionally, the car is based on a Mitsubishi product," explained Motor Trend at the time, "in this case, the [Galant sedan's] mechanical bits. Stylistically, the car is a joint venture of designers at both companies who endured numerous internal design competitions before the final version was completed in Japan by teams from both companies working together."
Whacking the Galant wheelbase to 97.2 inches and plopping an egg-shaped body on it resulted in a nimble car even in base, front-drive form with the standard 90-horsepower, SOHC four. But it was also available in GS trim with the 4G63 DOHC, 2.0-liter, 16-valve four making 135bhp, or the fabulous turbocharged 4G63T engine boosting output to 190bhp.When paired with the all-wheel-drive GSX, this powerplant was tuned to produce 195bhp.
Looking back through today's rose-tinted spectacles, virtually all Eclipses built during that first generation seemed to be GSX versions. In reality, the GSX was a relatively rare variant; most Eclipses were front-drivers even back then. But the GSX wasn't just decently quick (think 0-60mph in 6.6 seconds and the quarter-mile going by in 14.8 seconds at 91.1 mph, according to a Motor Trend test of a 1994 model), it also responded exceptionally well to turbo tricks. Private owners were soon running the quarter in the 13s. Then the 12s. And then the 11s. The 4G63 seemed to have an infinite appetite for boost and the all-wheel drive system made good use of the resulting power. It was, to give it the praise it deserves, the Evo of its time.
Introduced alongside the Eclipse was a new Japanese-built Galant sedan that shares most of its mechanical bits with that coupe. A slick handler, particularly in GSX form (which included the naturally aspirated 4G63 DOHC 2.0-liter four), the Galant was a viable alternative for enthusiasts who needed to haul people too. It was particularly attractive (though it never sold well) as the Galant VR-4, available between 1991 and 1994 and running the all-wheel drive system and turbocharged engine from the Eclipse GSX.