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History of Mitsibushi Motor Cars / Automobiles |
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- 8.11.8. Mitsubishi
- In 1917 the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Company produced the seven-seater, 35 hp (26 kW) 2.8 litre, Model A. The car had a top speed of 20 mph (32 kph).
- By 1922, when production ceased, 22 of these hand built cars, which were based on Fiat’s Tipo 3 model, had been built.
- The first motor vehicle diesel engine developed in Japan, the 6.7 litre 69 hp (51 kW) 450AD model, was produced by the company in 1931. 450AD or 445AD?
- In 1934 the company, now renamed Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, started development of the PX33, a prototype 4-wheel drive sedan for military use.
- Four models were built, plus a version under development that was being fitted with the 450AD diesel engine when the project was cancelled in 1937.
- From 1951 to 1954 Mitsubishi’s regional East Japan Heavy-Industries Company imported Kaiser Motor’s Henry J model.
- The American car, which was supplied in kit form, had a 68 hp (51 kW) engine. Or was it 80 hp?
- Between 1960 and 1965 Mitsubishi produced the 500 model (1960), the two-stroke 359 cc, front engine Minica kei car (1962) and four Colt models, the 600 (1962), the 1000 (1963), plus the 800 and 1500 (1965).
- The 20 hp (15 kW) 500 model was manufactured by Shin Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
- The 493 cc, rear-engined, vehicle was the first car produced in Japan after WW2. Production ceased in 1962.
- The Mitsubishi Motors Corporation was formed on 22 April 1970.
- More recent Colt models include the Plus (2004), C2C (2005), Ralliant Version-R (2005) and in 2006, the MIEV, which used electric motors at each wheel.
- The first in a range of Galant cars was produced from 1969 to 1973. In 1971 they became the first Mitsubishi cars to be sold in the United States where they were called the ‘Dodge Colt’.
- A ninth generation Galant, which was also called the Grunder, was launched in 2004.
- In 1998 the company introduced the seventh generation, 657 cc, Minica kei car. A 5-door hatchback model, the 659 cc Mitsubishi “i,” was launched in 2006.
- In addition to Japan, Mitsubishi vehicles have been manufactured in Australia, Netherlands, Philippines, Thailand and the United States.
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