4 Reasons Why The Mitsubishi 3000GT Never Took Off Like Other '90s JDM Cars Did
My Take on why the 3000GT never quite gained popularity as the other '90s JDM cars did.
When people talk about the Japanese Halo Sports cars of the '90s, people will often refer to the A80 Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Acura NSX, and the FD Mazda RX-7. These cars have been popular for close to 30 years now, and their prices only continue to climb. Mitsubishi's '90s halo car, the 3000GT (GTO), never really caught on though, and always seems to be left out of the conversation and prices are climbing at a much slower rate compared to the other cars stated. and probably won't reach the insane prices as the aforementioned cars (except for maybe the 1999 3000GT VR-4). I have a few reasons why I think this is.
1.) The 3000GT is Somewhat Common
One reason I think that the 3000GTs aren't over the top expensive is that they are more common to find (except the '99 VR-4) than say an A80 Supra or FD RX-7. The reason being is because they were also made alongside the mechanically identical Dodge Stealth so, in theory, there are more of them so there is more supply.
2.) DSM Reliability
Reliability can always help or hurt a car and in this case, it hurts the 3000GT. The 3000GT seems to be a toss-up for reliability if it's stock so always check it out if you can, but I would try to stay away from these cars if they've been modified under the hood as the car doesn't have the best reputation when modified.
3.) The Dodge Stealth is Cheap
This is another reason why the 3000GT hasn't appreciated as much as the Supra or RX-7. It's Dodge counter-part is cheap. Values of the Dodge Stealth have remained low. Seriously low. I just saw a 1994 Stealth R/T Twin Turbo (the 3000GT VR-4's counterpart) for sale for only $14,500 and 63,000 miles clocked. A 3000GT that's in similar condition would go for about 3k more, mainly because of the Active Aero, and 4WS on the '90-'94 VR-4 models. With Stealth being cheap, it keeps the 3000GT's prices in check because again, they are mechanically the same car and look very similar. Also, why would I pay current RX-7 or Supra level money for a 3000GT VR-4 when I could have the same car rebadged as a Dodge for less than $20k?
1994 Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo
4.) The Lower Trim 3000GTs Are Crap
The only 3000GTs that are really worth anything are the VR-4 and VR-4 Spyder. Outside of those, they aren't that good, and here's why. They are heavy and underpowered. A 1997 Base model 3000GT had only a measly 160 horsepower thanks to it have a SOHC version of Mitsubishi's 6G72 3.0L V6. The SL trim had the N/A DOHC version of the same engine that put out a more respectable 220-ish horsepower but the problem is that both models are FWD only. AWD was reserved for the VR-4 in North America. If you are that desperate for a 3000GT, however, you can find decent base model and SL models for less than $10k USD.
Why do you think the 3000GTs are so cheap? Are you glad they are cheap or do you wish they would appreciate in value? Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed the article give it a bump and don't forget to follow me and join my tribe for more content like this.
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Comments (31)
The VR-4 looks so much better than any Supra imo
The only one I potentially looks better than the A80 Supra is the 99 model
The 99 model definitely looks the best
Don't worry boys, its coming back as a crossover! Seriously though, I've driven a couple of variants of the gto and they're a lot of fun, they sound and feel really good. In a few 90s vhs tapes from best motoring they used to put up power to weight races and I remember on some tracks these cars beating out their competition (won't name names, dont want to cause any arguments).
I don’t think Mitsubishi’s would be that stupid I mean 3000GT or GTO is too sporty to be a name for an SUV. I mean they were somewhat able to get away with with the Eclipse because “Eclipse” isn’t necessarily a “sports car” name like 3000GT or GTO...
Read moreIn the UK we don't have any of those issues. No stealth to worry about, vr4 goes for about 5-8k and they're never modified.
Consider yourself lucky but the Stealth isn’t terrible and some people here in the U.S. prefer them because they are more rare. But really consider yourself lucky that there is no FWD to worry about as the 3000GT is only AWD in Japan and...
Read moreI do consider myself lucky lol
I'm not into JDM that much, so some relations still confuse me. Where does 300ZX stand there? I've always found it to be extremely good car, but proper enthusiast maybe know better?
It stands in competition with the Supra and RX-7 but it’s not as reliable as the Supra and heavier, and arguably uglier than the FD RX-7.
More of a GT, sort of?
Owned a 1993 VR4 with pop up headlights and 5 speed gearbox. I test drove a bunch of the competition at the time including the RX7 and Supra. The 3000GT was the best bang for the buck for me... that tall gearing gave mad top speeds in gear... 1st gear gave me 80kmh, 2nd 140kmh, 3rd 210kmh, 4th 240kmh and 5th actually finished my 290kmh meter... tuned her a bit and had a heap of fun in that thing. The main fragile item were the synchros in 1st and 2nd gear... I managed to kill one gearbox fortunately in warranty.
Well I don’t know if that’s good for the already questionable reliability of these things. Did you drive it like you stole it everyday?
Drove it very hard and maintained it religiously... my mechanic at the time was a mad tuner and he used HKS ATF in the 2nd gearbox and that seemed to make a world of difference in gearbox reliability.... aside from that the only time I had a major...
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