Beautiful car, great performance.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Phenomenally fast, great safety features, technologically amazing, race ready from the factory

Cons: Expensive, attracts a lot of attention

Handling And Control:

The Bottom Line: 
A very rare and quite expensive car, combining aggressive looks, incredible performance, and excellent safety features.

Author's Review
1999 was the last year for the 3000GT. After 9 years with the same basic design, prices had slowly crept up and sales began to lag. Thus, Mitsubishi went out with one final hurrah. The 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4. With extremely aggressive styling not seen in any previous models, this final edition served as a reminder of all that was right with the original 3000GT.

First of all, the active aero system returned. Dual fins/front spoilers in the nose are functional, adjusting automatically to create more downforce on the front tires during high speeds. The rear spoiler is a very large "wing", taken from the design of the Mitsubishis racing in the European rally championships. The car came in four colors: black, white, red, and green. I have never heard of a green one, so I suppose no one may have ordered it. Being an anniversary edition, there were also 8 factory paint options. One of which, holographic pinstriping, is on my 3000GT. It is very subtle and embedded in the paint along the curve of the body panels.

The engine is a 3.0 liter V6, mounted so that each bank of 3 cylinders has its own turbocharger and intercooler. The turbos produce a stock 14 psi boost. The engine is mated to a 6-speed Getrag transmission, replacing the old 2-bolt 5 speed which had so many problems. The engine is rated at 320hp at 6500 rpm, and 315 ft-lb at 2600 rpm. Having driven this vehicle to its full performance capabilities, I think it is completely possible that these numbers are under-rated. This is one serious perfomance car. It is officially "race-ready", and even says so in the manual. There is a reinforced stainless steel roll cage, 3 point safety harnesses, and a racing seat for the driver. Performance figures for the 1997 VR-4 were 4.8 seconds 0-60, and 13.6 seconds in the quarter mile. I have never seen perfomance figures for a 1999 model. Top speed is electronically limited to 160 mph.

The 1999 VR-4 remained all wheel drive, with (4) 245/40-18 tires on beautiful chrome 18" rims. It also has all-wheel steering, with the back tires turning up to 1.5 degrees above 37 mph. The 1997, again, tested at .95g on the skidpad, beaten only by the Ferraris, Porsche 911 Turbo, and the Viper. The brakes are vented (and huge), with active scoops in the body panels near the rear wheels to force air across them during high speed braking. With all of these mechanical performance features, the only negative is the weight - approximately 3600 lbs.

Comfort features in this car are also plentiful...Standard is a 210 watt, 6 speaker, Infinity stereo system. It has a tape and a CD player - a 10 disc CD player was an option that I did not get. The car has leather seats, power everything, dual antennas, automatic climate control, integrated remotes for your garage doors, dual AC adapters, and a sunroof. Safety features include the before-mentioned roll cage, front and rear crumple zones, dual airbags, side-door guard beams, and ABS.

Finally, the sound. Each of the dual exhausts (each with a dual chrome exhaust tip) has a different sized muffler. This is to give the exhaust a two-tone sound tuned specifically by Mitsubishi. Revving the engine, this 3000GT sounds like a Formula 1 car.

I have seen several sets of production numbers for this car. The lowest number I have seen was 45, and the highest was 192. This would represent total '99 VR-4s shipped to the U.S. in 1999. That makes it one of the rarest sports cars in existence. To this day, I am happy I bought this car. It was quite expensive, but always brings a smile to my face. The only "problems" that I have encountered so far are people staring, and a lot of people who want to race. Overall, I purchased this vehicle for its looks, performance abilities, and safety features. I have not been disappointed and I would highly reccomend it to any collector or sports car enthusiast.