Let me start off by saying this is a no reserve auction, whatever it goes for it goes for, and don't buy it if you are over 6'6" tall like myself. Also, all the pics are below instead of loading them into EBAY's weak photo hosting setup. I've always wanted one of these, this was my dream sports car when I was young and naive. I mean come on, they had active aero, active exhaust, active suspension, twin turbos, dual intercoolers, all wheel drive, AND four wheel steering?!? No wonder they weighed so much back in 91-93. Here's what they don't tell you......it doesn't have enough head room for a 6'6" tall guy, even with the seat all the way down. I mean i've owned a Paseo that had more head room. I bought this car in hopes of making it a mint driver, and pretty much completed that task, but I can't get over the lack of head room so here it is for sale and checked off the bucket list, on to owning a pet fox or something else ridiculous hah.
Why did I choose this one? First off because it has ZERO accidents on its record, second off because 1996 was the rarest year of the 3000GT sold in America. Why is that you say? Because there were no big changes for 1996 other than OBD2 so Mitsubishi just carried over a few 1995's and called them 1996 cars. See the bottom of this essay for the Story Teller results on the car, if you want the cliff notes it was the 19th one built for the 1996 model year and it is 1 of 38 ever made in this configuration. Only a handful of which are still on the road in this shape. And on top of that it has the full 1999 conversion which makes it technically rarer than the actual 99's but looking just as good! Don't even bother looking at the 91'-93' cars, they are not nearly as good compared to the 94'+ cars. These have bigger brakes, a stronger transfer case, 6-Speed transmissions, dropped the active exhaust and active suspension to save weight, they look better, all of the electronics are updated, and they run more boost producing over 320hp at the engine amongst other improvements. And BTW the metal power sunroof is UBER rare on this year, most were just glass pop up sunroofs.
Read down for the specific details on this car.
Interior: I would say the interior is a 8/10 honestly. The floor mats are in good shape, the carpet is in fairly good shape, it does have a couple of wear spots on the drivers side where someone drove it without the floor mats in for some stupid reason. The dash is perfect, no cracks or fading. The leather is all soft and very comfortable, the drivers seat of course shows its age but I had 4 brand new leather panels installed at the cost of $400. The A/C works it just doesn't work that great, not super cold, needs a cheap can of freon from your local parts store. Heat works perfect as do the rest of the hvac functions. The headliner is perfect as is the entire back of the car, everything from the front seats back might as well be new. All of the electronics work as they should, cruise control, wipers, turn signals, radio, hvac controls, gauges, warning lights, dome lights, power windows, power locks, power seat, lumbar and side bolster adjustments, power mirrors, power sunroof, etc... The glove box opens and closes correctly as does the center console. It has a sweet anodized red hurst style shifter that I actually think is my favorite part of the car oddly enough. There are no bad stains, smells, etc... it is a joy to drive and the gauges/interior looks awesome at night. Every now and then the temp gauge sticks for some reason but the car never overheats or anything, just a random cheap fix. The steering wheel has a little wear, all the radio controls etc... work fine. I accidentally left the dome light on and it drained the battery so I still need to call the dealer to get the radio code (free) I just haven't bothered since I listen to slacker radio anyways. Basically you're getting an interior that with a little effort could be show room like new mint. Or you could just enjoy the car as a driver like I did (minus the head room).
Exterior: Which brings me to the Exterior, say what you want but I think the 99' 3000GT VR4 is straight bad ass looking. If I had kept the car any longer it would be lowered a couple inches because I think that (and maybe some 5zigen FN01r-C wheels) is all it needs to be perfect. Now that I think about it i'm not sold on the door decals either. They read Twin Turbo DOHC 24V 4WS which is either mad JDM or not stock. Easy to remove if you don't like them. The paint shines up great, it does have some chips here and there but nothing you'd notice going down the road. There are a few rust bubbles on the sunroof panel, which is common with every 3000GT that has a metal sunroof. Which BTW incase you didn't read the top section this is a rare feature as most had glass pop up sunroofs for extra head room (I traded rarity for headroom, yes i'm an idiot). They are not that bad and can easily be fixed. The doors open and close perfect, all the lights work great, the 99' headlights are awesome projector lamps, the high beams are totally separate from the lows and come on at the same time providing a wall of light. The side scoops are functional in the doors, as is the spoiler etc... The spoiler is one of the few combat wing styles I actually like. The car has the full 99' conversion minus the fog lamps which are cheaply obtained but I stayed away from as they just block the intercoolers anyways. The paint between the new body parts and the old matches perfectly. It was all installed professionally and let me be the first to say NOT CHEAP. The wing is over a $1,000 by itself, the whole conversion was about $6,000. I dig the factory gallant VR4 AWD stickers on the wing, hence why I put them there, I take full credit for those. There is a ding on the passenger side door that is very hard to see, other than that there IS NOT A SINGLE DENT on the car that I could find, nor are there any scratches or rust or anything else of bad note. The exhaust is custom 3" the whole way back to the dual tips which are not perfect but they work. All of the struts work, hood and hatch, hold them up fine. I lubed the sunroof tracks but I think they need some actual grease, still works fine just shudders opening and closing sometimes. It needs new windshield wipers, we haven't had any rain recently so I haven't bothered but just in the effort of total honesty. Lets see what else, all the seals are good no water leaks, no glass cracks or chips, no cracks or chips in any of the lights. The wheels are painted black, yes I noticed. If you don't like that put some better looking aftermarket wheels on it anyways, problem solved. There is ZERO undercarriage damage that I could see, some surface rust on the exhaust pipes but nothing of note, no significant rust to the body anywhere. It has made no trips in the snow since i've had it. The fuel door release/hatch release/hood release/door handles etc... all work like they should. Could easily be a 10/10, I waxed it recently and it is slick as a politician currently.
Mechanical: Ah yes what you all came here for, the bits that make this car more than whatever else is rolling around on the street by your neighborhood right now. It has 0 warning lights on the dash, all of the systems work as they should, 4 wheel steering, all wheel drive, airbags, engine, etc... I haven't done any maintenance work since I got the car other than oil changes. It does come with the original owners manual. The previous owner said he had been through everything in the engine bay thoroughly and I believed him since it runs strong under boost. It has zero boost leaks or vacuum leaks. As far as modifications it is close to stock, just has an air filter, upgraded bosch BOV that is bigger than stock, 3" pre-cat delete rear downpipe, 3" exhaust, 7mm spark plug wires, and an o2 simulator. It boosts strong and is still using the factory boost controls for safety, has never had a manual boost controller on it. The turbos don't smoke at all, and the engine doesn't have any bad valve lifter noise or anything. Fires right up every time whether it is 0 degrees or 70, doesn't knock, ping, overheat, or leak anything. It has a brand new rebuilt Getrag 6-Speed transmission because the last owner tried to drive it after the original factory clutch finally gave up the ghost. So it also has a brand new Exedy stage 1 clutch (stronger than stock but not tough to drive). You will have to get used to the new Getrag 6-speed, it still needs to be broken in and these transmissions take a certain finesse to drive to begin with, but they are STRONG. No grinds, just firm shifting. The clutch is also STRONG. The center differential has a Viscous LSD and so does the rear end, so it has 2x limited slip differentials from the factory, trust me you are special if you can get a wheel to spin even under full boost. This thing will out hook any RWD car off the line, and with the Getrag 6-Speed you can actually launch the car vs the old 5-Speeds and their weak transfer cases in the 91-93 cars. Which is cool to know you've got the option but I wouldn't recommend making it a daily process, with great power comes great responsibility. The car just had an oil change to 10w-40 Mobil 1 full synthetic, and it has Royal purple synthetic transmission fluid in the trans. The exhaust sounds great and isn't too loud, has 2 mufflers, the turbo spool is epic. The BOV sound is tasteful and not annoying. Just got a 4 wheel laser alignment not too long ago when it got 4 brand new tires. It has new pads in the front, the front rotors could be machined but the brakes are really something, they will stop the car like nothing else i've owned. The quick change 4 piston calipers are awesome. Every now and then it will throw a check engine light for a random misfire code or rough idle, probably just needs plugs as that is one thing I haven't done. Once you start driving the car runs perfect, no issues whatsoever, strong oil pressure, strong boost, etc... The suspension is firm and the car handles great, the 4 wheel steering still works perfect, no vibrations except at idle it is a smooth driver. I've had it on a 6 hour drive, feel free to drive it home to wherever you live. Modify it or don't modify it, it is a solid platform to do whatever you want to it, as it is the car is something else to drive. Most people have never seen a 99' VR4 let alone one tastefully built. Oh and it also has a brand new alternator, new alternator belt, new passenger side CV axle, new strut bolts, and the timing belt was done around 100k.
Thanks for looking and good luck bidding, as of right now it is the best 3000GT VR4 on ebay period end of story. And it is probably the only one without a reserve on it, like I said up top whatever it goes for it goes for. Just need some cash for that Pet Fox I want :)