We often talk about the Supra, the Integra, or the S2000. But there's one older Japanese sports car that's often ignored, and it used to be really popular. That's right, we're talking about the Mitsubishi Eclipse.
Mitsubishi as a whole is struggling and looks like a shadow of its former self. While most of us gearheads would rather have an Evo comeback, there are still plenty of loyal Eclipse followers.
Nowadays, the Eclipse name is used by a crossover, the little Eclipse Cross, and that's pretty sacrilegious. But not as sacrilegious as calling the classic model "melted cheese," as YouTube designer TheSketchMonkey did in his latest video. Apparently, all you have to do is put this car inside of a burger.
Jokes aside, the Eclipse does look like processed cheese, the 1995 model being a product of its era in terms of design. We're just used to seeing it disgusted in body kits and huge wings. In this video, the artist tries to take a sports car design that's 26 years old and turn it into something that could be made today. Would you guys like that, a 2021 Eclipse?
Getting rid of the melted dairy product means straightening up some of the lines and getting rid of some droopy plastic trim. Some sharpness and some cool lines are added back in without making the Eclipse look forcefully modern. Also, Lexus IS taillights are added.
The Eclipse has a lot of historical significance as well. Mitsubishi wanted to sell cars to Americans and partnered up with Chrysler to create Diamond-Star Motors. The first model to roll off their joint factory in Illinois was this 2-door coupe, which was re-branded as the Plymouth Lazer or Eagle Talon.
The powertrain was basically an Evo four-cylinder turbo engine, which you could have with the same AWD on some trim levels. This rapidly turned the Eclipse into a drag racing machine in the early 1990s.
The 1995 model you see being referenced here is the second-gen model. It only made 210 horsepower out of the box, but you probably think it's a way faster car because of the green machine with a mean body kit in the first Fast and Furious scene.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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