The Mitsubishi Mirage is a range of cars produced from 1978 until 2003 and again from 2012 to 2024. Its hatchbacks were subcompact cars, while the saloons and estates were sold prominently as the Lancer, and the name moved between markets in a way that makes the Mirage one of Mitsubishi’s most complicated model lines.
Mitsubishi Mirage at a glance
| Maker | Mitsubishi Motors, sold through Car Plaza |
|---|---|
| Production | 1978–2003 and 2012–2024 |
| Generations | six |
| First generation | A150, March 1978 |
| First body | three-door hatchback, five-door from September 1978 |
| First engines | 1,244 and 1,410 cc Orion, 72 and 82 PS |
| Transmission | Super Shift, a four-speed with a two-speed transfer |
| Other names | Colt, Lancer, Dodge Colt, Plymouth Champ, Eagle Summit |
| Mirage Dingo | mini MPV sold in Japan from 1999 |
| Sixth generation | 2012, replaced the Colt |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Mitsubishi Mirage, of which the material available describes the first generation in detail. No free photos of the model were found in the material, so the article keeps the earlier picture.
History of the Mitsubishi Mirage
A car for the oil crisis
Mitsubishi launched the Mirage in March 1978 as a front-wheel-drive three-door hatchback, a response to the 1973 oil crisis, with a five-door on a longer wheelbase following in September. Because most overseas markets did not have the Minica kei car, the Mirage was usually sold as Mitsubishi’s entry-level model. It had four-wheel independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and front disc brakes, and power initially came from 1,244 and 1,410 cc versions of the Orion engine with 72 and 82 PS. The larger engine offered modulated displacement, a system that shut down cylinders under cruising or idling to save fuel, and in March 1979 a 1.6-litre Saturn engine brought an 88 PS 1600 GT.
Super Shift
The Mirage introduced Mitsubishi’s Super Shift transmission, a four-speed manual with a second lever for low and high range, effectively making it an eight-speed. It was not planned: the Orion engine had been designed for rear-wheel-drive cars with a longitudinal layout, and mounting it transversely in the Mirage caused carburettor icing and forced the gearbox to sit beneath the engine, taking power down from the clutch through an extra idle transfer shaft. Engineers realised that for little more than the cost of a new five-speed, that shaft could become a separate two-speed gearbox with its own lever. Its ratios worked as underdrives, marked power on the second lever, against an economy overdrive setting, and Mitsubishi sold it as a unique feature.
A facelift in February 1982 brought flush-fitting headlamps extending into the wings, a new grille, larger tail lights, firmer engine and transmission mounts, a lighter and more rigid gearbox case and a dashboard with rotating satellite buttons for the lights and wipers.
Colt, Lancer and the sixth generation
The Mirage’s marketing history was complicated. Mitsubishi used the name for all five generations in Japan and for all but the first in the United States, while other markets often used Colt, and saloon versions were widely sold as the Lancer, including in Japan where both were sold together through Car Plaza. In the United States and Canada the first four generations were sold through the Chrysler venture as the Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Colt, later joined by the Eagle Vista and Summit.
Production of the Mirage and its derivatives ended in 2003, by which time the new Lancer had moved up to the compact class and a five-door hatchback badged Colt had taken the subcompact place. The name returned internationally in 2012 on a sixth-generation hatchback and saloon that replaced the Colt, and it was built until 2024. Two curiosities belong to the family: the Mirage Dingo, a domestic-market mini MPV sold from 1999, and the Mirage Space Star, a rebadged Dutch-built Space Star sold in New Zealand from 2002 to 2003.
Design and features
- Super Shift: an eight-speed transmission born of a packaging problem.
- Modulated displacement: cylinder shut-off in the 1.4-litre engine of 1978.
- Many badges: Colt, Lancer, Dodge Colt, Plymouth Champ and Eagle Summit.
- Mirage Dingo: a separate mini MPV that borrowed the name.
- Two lives: 1978 to 2003, then 2012 to 2024.
Mitsubishi Mirage versions
- A150 (1978): first generation, three- and five-door.
- 1600 GT (1979): 88 PS Saturn engine.
- Mirage Dingo (1999): Japanese mini MPV.
- Mirage Space Star: New Zealand version of the Space Star.
- Sixth generation (2012): the Colt’s replacement.
The Mirage’s saloon versions were the Lancer, and its hatchback relatives were sold as the Colt. Its mini MPV offshoot was the Mirage Dingo, and more cars are in the Mitsubishi collection.
Sources
- Mitsubishi Mirage, English Wikipedia: nameplate history, first generation, Super Shift
