Mitsubishi Starion

Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Starion (1982-1990)
Starion
Production period:	1982-1990
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Combi coupe
Engines:	Petrol engines : 2.0–2.6 liters (108–205 kW)
Length:	4399-4425 mm
Width:	1685-1745 mm
Height:	1275-1320 mm
Wheelbase :	2435 mm
Empty weight :	1260-1468 kg
successor	Mitsubishi 3000GT

The Mitsubishi Starion is a sports car from Mitsubishi Motors . It was manufactured from May 1982 to June 1990 at various production sites. In North America, it was also marketed as the Conquest by the Chrysler , Dodge and Plymouth brands . The Starion is considered to be the founder of the Japanese turbocharger era, although it was not the first turbocharged vehicle on the market.

history

Rear view

When it was launched in Germany, the Starion had an engine output of 125 kW (170 hp) from a 2-liter engine with 4 cylinders and an exhaust gas turbocharger. These early models have the model series designation A170 (engine 4G63T) as well as A180 and A183 (engine G54A).

In May 1985 the Starion was given a charge air cooler, the output increased to 132 kW (180 hp).

As part of the facelift, a 2.6-liter engine (engine code 4G54B, also with 4 cylinders, turbocharger and intercooler) was installed from September 1987, and the bodywork revised. The result was the so-called "widebody" with aggressively exposed wheel arches and three-part spoilers at the front and rear. The "big" model has the designation A187 (A) and was equipped as standard with two catalytic converters and a rather complicated exhaust gas treatment system. The 2.0 models were rarely equipped with a catalytic converter (mostly for the US market, which at the time had strict emissions regulations for imported cars). A further development of the A187 is the equipment B 'VIRAGE' from chassis number xxxx187AMLYxxxxxx with a power increase to 205 kW (279 PS). Besides the A187 (A), only a few of these vehicles were built at the end of the series. Mitsubishi reacted to the new Toyota Supra 7M-GTE (from 1987) with comparable performance data when the 3000GT was not yet ready for series production.

The vehicle identification numbers start at Mitsubishi with JMBA followed (ie z. B. 187) from the model of the series (z. B. AMLK wherein also the year of construction is encrypted) and current production number (6 digits) and are on the bulkhead behind the front catalytic converter. At Chrysler they are called differently, e.g. B. JACC ... and can be read through the windscreen behind the dashboard, sometimes also on the B-pillar of the driver's door.

Mitsubishi Starion as a rally car prototype of Group B

The four-cylinder engines have "silent shafts" - balance shafts . This technology, patented by Mitsubishi, was also used by Porsche for four-cylinder engines. There are two shafts in the engine block to which imbalance weights are attached, which rotate at twice the crankshaft speed and thus give the machine a smooth run. All engines have a two-point injection system, which is controlled by a so-called ECU based on a one-chip 8049 microcomputer . The ECU receives data from a variety of sensors.

The Starion's braking system had ventilated discs at the front and rear from the start. The braking force control system on the rear axle is called ASBS and can be seen as the predecessor of ABS . A G-sensor is built into the trunk floor . With the help of this sensor, which determines the vehicle movement (g-forces), the brake pressure of the rear wheels is regulated.

According to KBA Flensburg (as of June 2015) of all engine variants, there were still around 52 copies of the Starion in Germany (including vehicles that were temporarily shut down). In January 2014 there were still 60 vehicles.

According to a FOCUS article from 2012, around 3,300 were sold in Germany.

literature

• Automobil Revue , catalog number 1982 (technical data)
• Mike Covello: Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-2002 . Krause Publications, Iola 2002, ISBN 0-87341-605-8 , p. 580.
• Tokyo Motor Show 1988 (Presentation A187 (B) 'VIRAGE'

Web links

Commons : Mitsubishi Starion  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Pictures and information
• Pictures and information
• Pictures, information, complete English-language workshop manual and circuit diagrams (of the A187)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mitsubishi STARION. dirkhennig.de