Was the Mitsubishi Starion named after a star, a horse, or a mispronounced stallion?
Mitsubishi insisted Starion joined star and Arion, the horse of Greek myth linked to Hercules. Others claimed Japanese engineers simply stumbled over the word stallion, and an early TV advert even closed with a stallion's head above the name. The answer may be a layered pun on a turbocharged 1980s coupé.
Built from 1982 to 1989, the Starion was a two-door fastback with four seats, a front-mounted four-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive. It was one of the first modern Japanese turbocharged performance cars with electronic fuel injection, and it arrived alongside rivals such as the Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra. Chrysler sold it in North America as the Conquest under Dodge, Plymouth and Chrysler badges, while Britain knew it as the Colt Starion. Jackie Chan drove one in the 1984 film Cannonball Run II.
Two bodies existed. The narrow version kept within Japanese size rules that taxed bigger cars and engines over two litres, and it was the only shape until the 1985.5 model year. The later widebody, sold in the US from 1986 to 1989 as the Starion ESI-R or Conquest TSi, carried an intercooler and more power. The chassis came from the Mitsubishi Galant Lambda, with MacPherson struts, and every version used a steering box rather than rack and pinion.
Americans got a 2.6-litre Astron engine; most other buyers got the 2.0-litre Sirius, later used in the Lancer Evolution. Output was similar, but the smaller unit revved higher and struck reviewers as livelier, while the bigger one offered more torque. Tightening emissions rules later pushed every market to the 2.6, and reviews soured because the switch arrived together with the heavier body. Turbo models made between 145 and 200 PS.
The top figure came from a Japanese-market 12-valve engine offered from 1984 to 1987, called DASH for Dual Action Super Head, which opened a third intake valve at high revs and allowed a 7000 rpm redline. The car's drag coefficient of about 0.32 beat both the RX-7 and the Nissan 300ZX, and from 1987 American versions came with motorised seat belts.
Source: Mitsubishi Starion
