It seems a lot of folks love Hollywood cars. Seeing something familiar from a boob tube or big screen gets people excited, especially if the show or flick was popular. Plenty of enthusiasts are also embracing cars of the 1990s, especially those that exude contemporary style. Combine the two and you have our Pick of the Day: a 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT that’s cosplaying Lightning McQueen. It’s listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Venice, Florida. (Click the link to view the listing)
The Mitsubishi 3000GT laded on American shores for 1991, somewhat playing the role of replacing the Starion, which had been a minor league player in terms of power and sales. The 3000GT surpassed contemporary Toyota Supra and Mazda RX-7 models as a truly serious sports car, while the others still came off as Japanese Camaros until their redesigns a few years later. Dodge also received a sister car to the 3000GT called the Stealth.
The 3000GT was introduced with three trim levels: base, SL, and VR-4 (Viscous Realtime 4WD). The former two were front-wheel drive and powered by a 2,972cc V6 rated at 222 horsepower and 202 ft-lbs of torque. The SL included a list of standard equipment that was optional for the base 3000GT, such as power windows and locks, while some features like power seat and electronically controlled three-stage suspension were simply not available for the base 3000GT.
And then there was the VR-4, which was powered by a twin-turbo version of the same engine. Horsepower was bumped up to 300 and 307 ft-lbs of torque, plus the VR-4’s drive system featured full-time all-wheel drive and power-assisted same phase four-wheel steering. An Active Aero System consisted of a retractable front air dam and motorized rear spoiler. This was fancy-pants stuff back then! A five-speed manual was the only transmission available.
Beginning with the 1994 model year, the 3000GT received a facelift that included a redesigned front bumper and projection-beam headlight system. Under the skin, a redesigned brake system featuring two-piston rear calipers and larger front brakes fixed complaints echoed by road testers in the buff books. For the VR-4, horsepower was bumped to 320, and it was now shifted by a six-speed manual. Plus, the Spyder – the first retractable hardtop since the 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie – appeared in 1995 for two years. By that time, redesigned Supra and RX-7 models (if not the 300ZX) had been giving the big Mitsu a run for its money and diminishing its place in the market. Another set of tweaks appeared for 1997, with more visual changes coming for 1999, a year before being discontinued.
But this story has a happy Hollywood ending, remember? This 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT has been converted to resemble Lightning McQueen from the Disney/Pixar film, Cars. It has all the features you’d expect from a base-model 3000GT, such as torquey V6 and fine handling, plus the added allure of the remarkable cartoon car. This vehicle is no longer stranded in Radiator Springs and is now ready to be liberated from the Sunshine State to your garage. Will you race McQueen in the Dinoco 400? Garner the most points in the Piston Cup circuit? If that sounds like something you’re ready for, you can reach out to the seller and (s)he can fill you in on purchase price and transportation.
Click here for this ClassicCars.com Pick of the Day.
For those of you who have not seen the Pixar Cars Movie and have written it off as ‘kid’s stuff’,
you are in for a big surprise. The story of that movie is as good as any story in any movie. It is too
real to have been entirely made up and may be based in part on some real life anecdotes.
How could some old guy that you hate who lives in the middle of nowhere and who you wish you’d
never met become the most important person in your life? The attention to detail in every single
scene is phenomenal.