The Plymouth Colt was one of the rebadged versions of the Dodge Colt, a subcompact car built by Mitsubishi Motors and sold in North America as a captive import from the 1971 to 1994 model years. The Plymouth Champ was its short-lived stablemate, and both were marketed by Plymouth dealers.
Plymouth Colt at a glance
| Maker | Mitsubishi Motors for Plymouth |
|---|---|
| Sales years | 1971–1994 model years |
| Type | captive import subcompact |
| Plymouth versions | Plymouth Colt, Plymouth Champ |
| First generations | rear-wheel drive, based on the Galant and Lancer |
| From 1979 | front-wheel drive, based on the Mitsubishi Mirage |
| First engine | 1,597 cc four, 100 hp |
| Gearboxes | four-speed manual and three-speed automatic at first; five-speed manual from 1977 |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Colt; the Plymouth Colt and Champ are described there as rebadged versions.
History of the Plymouth Colt
The Colt began in 1970 as a federalised first-generation Mitsubishi Colt Galant, sold as a 1971 model. It was a conventional unibody car with a front engine, rear-wheel drive, MacPherson struts at the front and a live rear axle, and it came as a two-door pillared coupe, a two-door hardtop, a four-door sedan and a five-door wagon. The 1,597 cc four was rated at 100 hp, dropping to 83 hp in 1972 when the industry changed from gross to SAE net ratings. A four-speed manual was standard and a three-speed automatic optional. In 1973 a GT hardtop coupe joined the range with rally stripes, sport wheels and a centre console. The car was Chrysler’s answer to the AMC Gremlin, Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Vega, and as a Japanese import it competed with the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Datsun 1200.
Second and third generations
The 1974 cars kept the same platform under a rounder body, with single headlights in place of the previous twins, and gained the larger G52B “Astron” engine as an option, at first only with the automatic and later with the manual as well and as standard in the GT coupe. That two-litre produced 96 hp at 5,500 rpm. A four-speed manual or three-speed automatic remained available, with Chrysler’s Torqueflite replacing the original Borg-Warner unit, and for 1977 a five-speed manual became available, standard in the GT and Carousel coupes. The Carousel, added in 1975 with larger bumpers, was a more luxurious version in special blue and white paint.
For 1977 the smaller A70-series Mitsubishi Lancer took over as the Dodge Colt coupe and sedan, called the “Mileage Maker” to distinguish it from the larger car, while the second-generation coupes and wagons stayed on sale for that year. The new car’s 1,597 cc engine made 83 hp, falling to 77 hp in 1978 with the MCA-Jet high-swirl system, and a “Freeway Cruise” package added the Silent Shaft engine, a five-speed manual and a maroon and white paint scheme. A separate Colt Wagon arrived for 1978, based on the larger Galant Sigma, with the 1.6-litre engine or an optional 105 hp 2.6-litre and a five-speed. In 1979 the Colt line moved to the front-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Mirage, the layout it kept to the end of production.
Design and features
- Captive import: Mitsubishi engineering and Japanese build, sold through Plymouth dealers.
- Two layouts: rear-wheel drive on Galant and Lancer generations, front-wheel drive on Mirage generations from 1979.
- Badge engineering: the same cars were sold as Dodge Colt, and in Canada the early cars as the Plymouth Cricket.
- Long run: two decades in the range, with the Plymouth Champ as a short-lived additional nameplate.
Plymouth Colt versions
- Plymouth Colt (1971–1994): the main Plymouth version of the Dodge Colt range.
- Plymouth Champ: a second Plymouth nameplate on the same Mitsubishi subcompact.
- GT and Carousel coupes: the sporting and luxury trims of the second generation.
- Cricket (Canada, 1974–1975): the same car with a Plymouth Cricket badge, renamed Colt for 1976.
The Colt shared its Mitsubishi origins with the Arrow, and in Canada it was briefly sold as the Cricket. More cars are in the Plymouth collection.
Video: 500hp 1989 Plymouth Colt Dyno & Driving
Video by 1320video on YouTube.
Sources
- Dodge Colt, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, Plymouth versions
