Trying For a Conquest In North America

By the 1980s the Japanese had established a firm foot hold in the American market. Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi each had some successes with their imports. But there were still those in the USA who preferred to have a car badged with the name of a domestic car company. In order to accommodate those buyers and to show how international the reach was for the various car makers, some Japanese cars were brought to America and had their logos changed from the manufacturer to one of the domestic companies.

In 1982 Mitsubishi introduced a small, sporty car with a four cylinder front mounted 2.0 or 2.6 liter rear wheel drive car they called the Starion. The name meant "star of Orion" and the car was seen as a true small GT designed to compete with the likes of the Toyota Supra or the Honda Prelude.

In the US it was marketed by Mitsubishi but through an agreement with Chrysler it was also re-badged and sold as a Chrysler, Dodge or Plymouth Conquest. The single overhead cam 2.6 L engine sent to the USA was turbocharged to help with highway driving and giving the car up to 197 horse power.

The car had a traditional 2+2 layout but like many such cars from Japan the back seat was quite cramped. Part way through its run a wider body version was offered in the American market.

While the car may not have sold all that well with its highest production year being a little over 19,400, it did have some international racing success in Group A and Group N. In addition to rally success the car also had some high finishes in endurance races as well.

Despite its racing success production ceased following the 1989 model year.