Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder
Text & Photography by Sammy Chan
| Click any of the thumbnail pictures for more details |
Better known as the Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser in Canada, the Mitsubishi
Eclipse was a product of a joint venture between Mitsubishi and Chrysler in the
late 80's. It was not only until several years ago when Mitsubishi
Canada was officiated in Canada that the Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder were
formally introduced to the Canadian consumers. And what a fine product they are,
flaming our desires for owning an exotic-looking sports coupe and an affordable
convertible. In fact, if what you want is a 4-seater Japanese convertible sports
car, there's no other place than heading to a Mitsubishi dealership, simply because
Toyota, Honda, Nissan nor Mazda offer one in their entire line-up.
April 20th was such a nice, warm and sunny day that the only prescription a winter-sick patient would need is a sports convertible. This was also the prescription Mitsubishi Canada had ordered for us auto scribes to take out that day. With 2 Pure Red and 3 Liquid Silver Metallic pills to choose in their parking lot, I immediately went after a gun-silver looking Eclipse Spyder and before I could swallow this pill completely, I instantly felt that all my winter blues have been cured.
This magic potion known as the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder is actually a 3rd generation makeover ever since the first one was launched in 1996 in the US. Rather than reinforcing the "geo-mechanical styling" of the previous 2nd generation Spyder, this all-new design combines the successful elements of the last 2 generations and turn them into a well-proportioned and exotic-looking piece. Body lines are dramatically formed and flared in the right places. Compared to the other 4-seater convertibles in the market, it is undoubtedly better looking than the Ford Mustang, the Pontiac G6 and the Toyota Solara.
The all-new Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder comes in 2 different trim levels: GS and GT-Premium. Eclipse Spyder GS has a starting price of $31,998 and will account for about 60% of the sales. GS is equipped with a 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Standard features include a power-operated top, 650W Rockford Fosgate sound with 6 disc in-dash CD/MP3 player, 9 speakers with an 8-inch subwoofer, fog lamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, heated seats, ABS and Electronic Brake Distribution EBD. Adding another $5000 for the GT-Premium will fetch you a much wider array of performance-oriented and luxury-oriented essentials, that'll include a big displacement V6 engine, 6-speed manual, automatic climate control, power seats, traction control and 18-inch wheels. Actually, its $36,998 price is also considerably cheaper than the previous model it replaces.
From the start, the Eclipse Spyder was designed hand-in-hand together with the Coupe version, hence the body was designed to be very rigid to start with. Unibody reinforcements are plenty, this include dash cross member, high rig floor cross member, optimized side member...........
Full story to follow very soon...........
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Style |
GS |
GT Premium |
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MSRP |
$31,998 |
$36,998 |
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Wheelbase |
2575 mm |
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Length |
4565 mm |
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Width |
1835 mm |
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Height |
1389 mm |
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Engine |
2378 cc SOHC 4-cylinder |
3828 cc SOHC V6 |
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Horsepower |
162 / 6000 rpm |
260 / 5750 rpm |
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Torque |
162 / 4000 rpm |
258 / 4500 rpm |
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Transmission |
5-speed manual |
6-speed manaul |
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Front suspension |
Macpherson strut, coil springs, stabilizer bar |
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Rear suspension |
Multi-link, coil springs, stabilizer bar |
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Brakes |
Front ventilated disc, Rear solid disc, ABS |
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Tires |
225/50R17 |
235/45R18 |
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