Here's Why the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Was a 1990s Icon 

Jim, we had a guy. He washed his car with gasoline. We gotta put that in there.

"Auto-metal" was a very common feature on 80-90s cassette tape players : metal was a type of tape that needed a specific equalizing

My dad a ‘93 or ‘94 VR-4. He loved it. I drove it dozens of times. Great interior and seats and it hauled ass. RIP Dad.

"Auto metal" refers to the ability to automatically adjust to the metal style tape reading. And I'm quite sure Mitsubishi knew what it meant. There are different types of cassette tapes and some cassette tape players would automatically adjust for the different types.

The Japanese Highway Patrol used these in the 90's, stripped out with roll gauges and tuned by HKS, really cool and VERY fast.

Personally I'd say the 3000gt is the most beautiful jdm cars of the 90s

The 3000GT was my go-to car in Gran Turismo as a kid.

I remember every boy in high school drooled when the school guidance counselor would pull up in her white 3000GT. It was so gorgeous, but the funny part is that she drove it with a doughnut wheel for at least 1 entire school year. This was after the car was cancelled and we all thought what she did everyday was simply criminal.

A friend of mine picked up a 90's 3000GT used in the early 2000s. It was insanely fast.

I really enjoy when Doug talks about pages in the owner's manual.

Mitsubishi making the Eclipse and 3000GT: We know what they need Present Day: LEtS mAkE tHE eCLIpsE a CRoSSoVeR

These ran extremely impressive numbers stock. I had a stock 1997 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 and a stock 1991 Nissan 300ZX Twin-Turbo (5 speed manual) at the same time the VR-4 was much faster in a straight line, from a dead stop to 150ish speedo indicated the VR-4 had the Z easily beat by a couple car lengths or so depending on the launch. At the quarter mile the Mitsubishi will run with an older Audi S5 or C5 Vette, I ran a 13.51@102.47mph my first time out. After learning how to drive it I actually ran pretty consistent 13.3-13.4@102-104mph. In comparison my 300ZX Twin-Turbo ran 13.8-14.0@101-103mph.

"Metal" is a cassette tape bias setting. That this car switches its bias automatically is actually pretty slick. You make me feel old.

I still think pop-up headlights are awesome... maybe it's just me...

Auto metal on the tape deck means the tape deck was supposed to automatically detect the formulation of the tape (chrome, metal, etc...) and adjust the deck accordingly because different tape formulations require different playback equalization.

A few years ago there was a guy in my city that had a vr4 and he was slowly swapping the exterior body parts with carbon fiber. And it started to look epic

I just spoke with Joel, the salesman! He’s a pastor now. Says he remembers the car like it was yesterday, it was his demo car. He sold it to a man in Mt. Gilead Ohio. How cool! My favorite RU-vidr, reviewing one of my favorite cars, that was sold and driven not far from my house. Small world!

can somebody give this man a 300zx to review already, he's gotten to all of the other 90's japanese sports cars

What a fun car to drive. My brother had the Dodge Stealth AWD twin turbo version and it was a blast to drive. It would bury you in the seat when those turbos kicked in.

In the 80's, cassette tapes had the standard tape with ferric oxide and there was also a "metal" tape. The auto metal meant the player recognized the difference and automatically switched between the two.

Doug, the coolfactor is 10/10. Ever played Gran Turismo 1? This was one of the best cars to modify, I remember it being the best bang for buck and tunable cheaply into a monster.

My old man had one when I was a kid and taught me how to drive in it. I still think it's one of the most beautiful production cars ever.

Mitsubishi knows exactly what Auto Metal means and so do I, it automatically selects the type of tape composition.

Had a vr4 while in the service, I'll never forget the feeling of those turbos kicking in on a country road along the coast. The car was like a horse, meant to run fast and felt like riding on air when you got there. Front and rear spoilers kicking in around 70mph, touch button suspension (tour, sport mode), amazing vehicle. Had a Cobra and S60R too, each had their perks. The NA 32v v8 with IRS loved high revs on twisty roads, the occasional power glide through an intersection was fun, beat a similar year STI at 162mph on Highway 16 near tacoma, he was pissed cause I caught him from behind. The S60R just brutally destroyed nearly everything stock in its power band, the VR4 had a smooth, powerful acceleration while the S60R made you grab the wheel with both hands. Loved each of those cars, also had an old 92 Honda Accord EX that came with its own comfortable perks, looked nice, never gave complaints getting to 140mph interstate driving. Take a chance on these old cars, you'll appreciate what you get and how balanced they were for their time. New cars may have power but they don't have that something special these older cars did.

The 3000gt innovated new technologies into the car industry, technologies that Germans and Italians hadn’t even thought of putting in their car and you give it a 4 for features. Unbelievable

Sold mine last year. 19 years of owning, loved every minute of that car. I miss it dearly. It was a love affair. I chose it over the wife many times.

"Mitsubishi isn't a cool brand anymore, this days they just sell cheap crossover to people with bad credit." This is hilarious 🤣🤣🤣

FM diversity is essentially stating that the radio uses a series of antennae to achieve the best possible signal. The car has not only the power mast antenna, but a smaller antenna integrated into the rear glass. The head unit can then decide which antenna is best to be used on the fly. This was particularly common in Japanese vehicles from the 80’s-90’s.

With regards to how it feels when cornering: I always felt that it was way more provocative of going fast than other sports cars, it taunts you to go faster. My dad has one with a full exhaust and intake and the sounds is pretty great. I always found that you had to regard the car as more of a grand tourer than a sports car. As a tuner car it has heaps of potential but as a stock car it is more like fast and comfortable. I love the tan over red colour.

Mitsubishi was a highly desirable franchise Hyundai was a low budget risky franchise , my how things change

I bought a 1994 while working in Saudi Arabia. Had the car just over a year when I took a vacation to Japan and took a tour of the Mitsu plant. Talked to the Rallye Art (the racing division of Mitsu) people about the VR4 and what plans they had to race the 3000. They said they had developed an engine and tranny for it but the upper echelon had decided against "factory" racing but would "help" individuals who wanted to race. My "guide" took me into a room where they had 4 3000's in their factory racing colors that they were going to dismantle. I asked if they would consider selling one to me but the answer was a resounding NO". Then the guide made an intercom call with someone and told me they had 12 engine/tranny combos that were to be used for spares and that they would consider selling those for a price that was as much as what I paid for the car. When I learned the engines produced 980 BHP and the tranny was an 8 speed, I didn't think twice and bought one with the condition that they send a Rallye Art mechanic to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to install the engine/tranny. I paid for all shipping and hotel accommodations and two weeks later I had the ONLY Rallye Art 3000GT VR4 in the world that was not at the factory collecting dust. The car was very capable of speeds over 230 mph as I had it over that on several occasions. Unfortunately the car did not accompany me back to the states as a very wealthy Saudi offered me 2.5 times what I had invested in it. It's probably a million dollar car today.

"Auto Metal" means the cassette deck recognizes metal tapes automatically, instead of having to push a button, like on most of the decks from this era. Mitsubishi knew that, man... :/

I miss my 92 SL. It broke down all the time, I owned it for 4 years and only put a total of 10k miles on it, replacing bent valves and two transmission rebuilds and I loved owning every second of it. Especially because it pushed me into working on my own cars doing basic maintenance while in highschool.

i remember purchasing this car used in Grand Turismo 2 and winning a bunch of races tuning it lmao

Watching this makes me realize how big of a 90s car person I am. It's when I fell in love with cars and starting working on them. *Every* 'quirk' in this video seems very sensible to me and makes me want the car. I would blast Third Eye Blind on a cool fall night with no regrets.

Watching you climb in and out of that rear seat gave me flashbacks of my childhood. My mom had a black SL model with tan interior ~2002-2003. The VR4 is my dream car. That click of the passenger seat sliding back, the little holes around the seat buckle hostler, the cramped bucket seats.. ahh sweet memories...

One of Doug’s best reviews. Less gimmicky, critical but not hyper critical; shows his thorough knowledge, and not talking way too fast. Love the older videos as they were decent length. I like the days pre “THIS.” Great video.

Manga : Mitsubishi 3000GT V6 Anime : Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 *Netflix Adaptation : Dodge Stealth R/T*

I remember some earlier VR-4s not only had 4 wheel steering, but also active aerodynamics.

oh man. its a lot like my 98 i bought after graduating high school. so many memories. it was actually a pretty reliable car. drove it across the country once with zero issues. hauled a mini fridge in the back one time lol.

These are beautiful. Definitely love the styling. The rear reminds me of a space ship

As a guy that graduated HS in 1994 this was an awesome car back in the day.

I must not have already commented here. I had a '91 VR-4 followed by a '95. The '91 had adjustable suspension and remarkably neutral handling in a unique Fuji Blue. The '95 with more HP and a 6 speed, was faster but no adjustable suspension, it had some understeer but still good handling. Note I recall the turbo coming on at 2500 RPMs and not much lag for the day, although more than today's best. When equipped with a sunroof like your review car, it did loose 1" headroom but it was enough for me at 5'11" I really enjoyed the 8 years with both.

Doug surprises me sometimes when he says he doesn't know what something is, like the "auto metal" on the radio at like 8:50. It's for the old high-end metal layered cassette tapes btw for all you young'uns. Those were almost as good as cd. There was another video where he admits to not knowing what the graphic equalizer was. Just surprised, since I think he is old enough to remember those things.

Doug is the type of guy to read 95 pages of an owners manual before finding a quirk

You forgot to mention the active aerodynamics and the heated side mirrors. I've owned 2 VR-4's, they're definitely a nightmare mechanically because the enginebay is so compact and hard to work with. A timing belt job is like a 12hr affair. But the engine can handle power and a simple downpipe exhaust upgrade and an external boost control turns that engine into 375hp easy. Want more? The stock b9 turbos are the size of hairdryers. 15g turbos and larger fuel injectors and pump and you're looking at 550hp all day. I worked at a performance shop that specialized in these cars, they have potential.

Back when Mitsubishi made cool cars on a regular basis. There was a car meet that was cancelled in the next town over from where I live because it was council-organised and they ceased all local events when the mourning period for the Queen was announced. People still turned up anyway and one of the people had a Cherry Red 1997 3000GT TT. Absolutely beautiful car.

In like 2002-3ish, me and my brother looked at a 96 VR4 Spyder(Hard Top Convertible from California with 7k miles on it. Guy wanted like 30k for it, but my brother couldnt get the loan, that is they wouldnt loan enough money for the car. Im sure thats beyond a steal now. It was in great shape. We spotted it before it had even been put on sale. It was in Chicago Ridge, IL by the mall there, as we spotted it on our way to the mall. I also remember seeing a Pearl Pale Yellow Stealth R/T(not sure but I think it was an R/T) at a local dealer around the same time, and it looked great in that color, and Im not a big fan of yellow. Always loved these cars. It was the best car in the first Gran Turismo. I think I had a 1992 Used GTO with the stage IV turbo upgrade.

_"AUTO METAL"_ This means the cassette deck can automatically select the proper tape bias setting to optimally play metal formulation cassette tapes. How that works is simple: metal bias cassettes have a pair of holes close to the center of the spine and hi-bias cassettes have a pair of holes located next to the pair of record protection tabs. There are switches over those holes in an auto-bias sensing cassette deck.

Doug the type of guy to sleep on a ruler to see how long he slept.

I think the tan and black interior go very well together

@8:42 Auto Metal refers to automaticlly flips the tape and plays the other side, and it was made to read the newest metal cassette reels, made of some type of metal material.

Doug.. the type of guy who always finds a way to add "infotainment screen" to every conversation

My dad had one of these. He called it his "911 killer." Taught me how to drive a stick shift on it. I had the best dad in the universe :)

auto metal on the cassette deck refers to automatic detection of metal oxide tapes I assume. The tape coating was less hissy and better dynamic range and was more expensive. But it required usually a metal on/off button to adjust deck electronics to benefit from this. So having that detect automatically is just .. cooler. no button needed.

@Doug DeMuro Re: 8:52 "Auto Metal" - back in the cassette days, there were "metal" tapes that were higher quality, but required some (normally manual) adjustments to the playback system. "Auto Metal" then allowed you to use a Metal cassette without manually adjusting the setting. As for FM Diversity, no sure, but it COULD be related to different countries having different FM increments. In the US, FM frequencies are odd-number decimals (88.5, 93.1, etc.) but in other countries they are even or even go into the second decimal digit (88.55), so this stereo could allow for use in many different locations without replacement.

I bought a 94 VR-4 new. Drove is for 24 years. Put 220k miles on it. Best damned car I ever owned. Waaaaay ahead of its time and still looked good when I sold it. Shame on Mitsu for falling in the SUV hole.

Pop up head lights will always be cool

I think we need to point out that the 1998 VR-4 is actually more rare than the 1999 model year, with only 231 units produced vs 287 units.

best car reviews ever! super informative and thorough, with no BS!

Doug, the type of guy to always mention cup holders in every video. True American.

Make Mitsubishi Great Again

Omg I loved this car more than anything in high school. A couple kids had them and I was so envious. Such an epic car.

I had 91 VR4 for my first car in high school. A couple of things you should have mentioned. The 91 had active aero the wing in the back would flip when you hit 35 and a air pod would drop down under the front bumper. Also it had a cruise mode that would quiet the exhaust even quieter and soften the suspension. By the time I sold it had a 230000 miles and was still chugging along.

Auto metal was a "luxury" cassette player feature that switched bias for "Metal" tapes (besides "normal" and "CrO2" tapes).

It's sad to see the 3000GT/GTO be forgotten compared to the Supra, Skyline, RX7, NSX and such. I still have the memories of this car from Gran Turismo.

A friend had one of these. The tubos failed early on, and he had it rebuilt and added a oil cooling system. He sold it soon after, due to the reliability factor and the extreme cost involved with the engine/turbo system. It was pearl white with red interior, which I personally feel is one of the most attractive color schemes offered. I'm debating purchasing one and doing some tasteful mods, such as a lighter and louder exhaust. The gauge cluster on the dash is unique and very cool, could be perfect spot for some mods too.

I remember looking at one of these at the dealership in the late 90s. The ones with all black interior were stunning and I love the round vents

As a former owner of a 1998 3000GT VR-4. 98 was actually the rarest. Mitsubishi made 231 VR-4’s in 1998.

Even Doug Demuro isnt old enough to appreciate cars like this...

I owned a 95 VR4 and this video brings back memories (especially the cup holder in the arm rest and that back seat with almost no leg room). I miss that car.

Doug - look over the high-end Maxell (for example) blank cassette tapes used to record CDs and some other forms of audio back when. 'Metal' was a premium quality feature of blank cassettes - most likely beginning in the 1980s or before - that offered a slightly improved fidelity recording over conventional materials used in the construction those blank tapes that allowed for 'mix tapes' or reproduction of compact discs if you did not have a head unit with CD or wanted some other flexibility from your media (i.e., did not want to lug around so many CDs on a trip or around town to sit in your vehicle and get stolen) when they sometimes retailed for $18 in late 80s money. Metal was a special setting that the deck needed to select to accommodate when the 'Audio Enthusiast' storage choice of Metal Cassette tapes were used to give the best sound. The 20th Cent. version of HD sound as it were.

The "Metal" on the radio/cassette was saying it could handle Chromium Dioxide cassette tapes which required a much harder head because the metal chromium would scratch a normal head for iron oxide tapes. Chromium Dioxide tapes had much better frequency range.

Idk man, rating the Vr4 a 6/10 is almost insulting... these cars ran with the Supra. I think the rating was a little harsh, and under appreciated maybe.?

@ 23:00 when he get's on it - you can literally hear the twin turbos spooling up and that made me feel like a child again. ;)

@19:50 the added weight was in the body and frame. This car saved my life! I did two barrel rolls in one and knocked down a telephone pole while rolling, came out upside down, unscathed except a few cuts from a broken window.

The exhaust is quiet, but that turbo/induction noise is pretty sweet

One of the prettiest car ever made. Period. Gran Turismo EPIC! Pick this one and win win win.

I love when Doug gets happy about speed he is literally the goat

The cup holder thing made me laugh. I had a 1996 Infiniti q45 which was a very weird but cool high end luxury car that also had its cup holders in the center console. They didn’t have bottles for liquids in the 90s available commonly, it was all aluminum cans. You can store a can in the console AND close it.

Doug, "AUTO METAL" meant that the Tape player automatically recognizes ‘metal’ tapes. Way back then you could purchase ‘metal’ particle or metal treated tapes that had a much more rich sound the caveats were that 1. You needed a tape player that had the ability to play the metal tapes AND 2. You should NEVER use metal playing mode on a standard tape, it would ruin your tapes. So an Auto Metal tape player automatically sensed the tape type, w/o your forgetting to hit the metal mode off to avoid ruining standard tapes. Re: Mitsubishi’s turbo, you didn’t mention that it had a graduated turbo which was actually very cool. Normal turbos kicked in at about 5,000 rpm as you mentioned and gave you a kick in the bum to redline. Mitsubishi’s turbo kicked in partially early on, then ramped up as you increased RPM’s, giving you more thrust at lower rev’s, earlier, without lagging the engine and did so much more smoothly. All Wheel Steering, You mentioned this, but didn’t mention that at low speeds it turned AGAINST or opposite the front to decrease your turning radius. At high speeds the rear turned WITH the front (8°) to keep your vehicles track straighter. For example as you swerved around a slower moving car, quickly changing lanes, you kind of went sideways greatly reducing normal vehicles tendency to fishtail. You mentioned riding on rails as you cornered Not sure if that one had the original tires, but if so, or they bought the same, they were $2,000 to replace and were unique. The sides were like an upside down V. For ex: rim at top, pavement at bottom a normal tire looks like this; (___). The 3000 GT VR4’s looked like this; /____\, putting more rubber on the pavement. You also might note the 3000GT VR4 has one of the most interestingly worded warnings then a recall ever. It roughly went like this: "Warning! Potential for transmission failure. When the vehicle is being pushed to it’s designed limits, when it is being exercised to its maximum potential, during periods of extremely high stress and speeds, the transmission may seize." Think about that. You’re going down your favorite twisting mountain road, engine screaming, shifting it’s AWD 320 HP twin turbocharged engine and transmission wildly, taking the corners at high speed, breaking into the curves, accelerating out of the curves, engine screaming... and the transmission locks up. All 4 wheels lock as your transmission seizes. Not making this shit up. 😳

Dude, if an RX7 is a 10 in styling, this is a 9. You didn't even get close to the limits. And 4.8 seconds for something this heavy and with just 320 HP, is insanely quick.

There's an earlier model 3000GT that someone down my road has either recently acquired or just recently started parking on their front lawn. So I get to see it every day on my way in to work which is awesome. Would be amazing to get a photo of it with my Lancer Ralliart.

The term "Auto Metal" referred to the tape deck. The "Auto" part referred to the auto-rewind feature when the cassette ended. The "Metal" portion refers to the deck's ability to play type IV metal cassette tapes, which were a much higher fidelity and durability than the type III ferro-chrome tape.

Doug the kind of guy that reads the owners manual before driving

FM Diversity means the car has two antennas, for better reception. There's the stalk, and an antenna in the windshield. The radio switches to the antenna that has the best reception. Metal was for metal-oxide tapes, which required different tape bias.

Thanks for doing this one, Doug. I lusted after this car as a teenager.

I think my favorite part is when he opened it up. I know the first time I drove mine, you couldn't get the smile of my face.

Really interesting to see the differences of this compared to my JDM Galant VR4 of the same year. I'm surprised they didn't go with the same full tilt fake carbon fiber all over the dash! Different market tastes I suppose.

Had one of these back in 1993. Loved that car! Mine had the active aero option, that would adjust the pitch of the wing. My girlfriend at the time loved to press the switch non stop. I finally had to tell her to stop before she broke it. Loved the all wheel steer. Fast and handled awesomely. It was my upgrade from an upgrade. Shelby GLHS to a Dodge Conquest TSI and then the Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4! How I miss the 80’s and 90’s turbo cars!

I can only say that in my small town my mechanic, who runs a medium sized car repair business, and does good work, told me that if I bought one of the 3000 GTs I should plan on getting it worked on somewhere else when I needed maintenance. He called the 3000GT a lemon and a maintenance headache. His words and not mine.

I miss 90s turbo cars. 3000 GT VR4, Talon TSI, turbo Stealth, Shadow Shelby. Owned and loved them all

Couple of things. This car was known, even at the time, as a 3.0 liter grand tourer hence the name 3000GT.Big. Fast. Comfortable. It didn't have the pure sports car feel of an RX-7 but when it came to comfort, road noise and soft touch materials it blew away the likes of the Supra and 300ZX at the time. The added weight was always going to be a problem but it was a grand tourer anyway. Also, up until 1996 the 3000GT was known as the car for big guys. When they ditched the mechanical sunroof for an electrical unit in '97, the cabin lost some headroom and that is the reason your head kept hitting the headliner. Back in the day I remember the guys over 6 feet who had turbo's all say it was the only one they could fit in. These cars had a transverse mounted V6 which made it a bitch to work on and didn't help the exhaust not any. The Supra and Skyline were the inlines 6's which make for better sounding motors by and large due to their natural balance. At highway speeds against other cars with the same power level, the 3000GT had its work cut out for it to overcome the extra weight and drivetrain loss of the four wheel drive. But from light to light, all of that weight and 4wd made this thing untouchable. With the tach pegged at 4.5K and a fast clutch slip, the rear end would squat super hard and dig in deep. Roll racing, it could hold its own but from a standstill, they only ways you were losing was if you bogged on the launch.

My 91 stealth tt was my favorite car to this day. I had one of the "official pace car" models, along with being a wonderful touring car, it had questions asked about it everywhere I went. I loved the older people that would basically run up to me and ask me about it. Mine had 32k when I got it and I sold it with 68k. I'll have another someday, low cost of ownership compared to the feeling you get driving one. Thanks for reviewing this car Doug but the earlier generations had many more quirks, mine even had suspension and exhaust switches from normal modes to "race" modes. The first gen had all the goodies Mitsubishi could throw into a vehicle! So much fun.

That thing drives like a caddy. I remember test driving one, I owned a 98 Eclipse. It was so heavy feeling.

My best friends mom bought one of these brand new. We snuck it out one night and were amazed at the performance. Lotta fun.

They need to bring back Lift back hatches. Everything in the 90s and 80s was so usable and you can fit so much in them.

13:03 this handbrake is made for cool stuff when you driving through corners 😁😁

I am so glad I actually own a vr4 at the age of 18. I got the 91 model year so you guessed it. Pop up pop down headlights!!

My favorite car from that time. Would buy one on a heartbeat today if they still made them like this