Recently, the Japanese company has decided to focus almost entirely on crossovers, and yet quite recently there were many interesting passenger models in its range. One of them is the Eclipse coupe. What could it be like today?
The Mitsubishi Eclipse sports coupe was first introduced in 1989. The model was named after an undefeated 18th century English racehorse who won 26 races. The first two generations of the two-door were made on the basis of the American Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser in close cooperation with Chrysler Corporation. In total, four generations of Eclipse were produced, the last of which was introduced in 2005 and lasted on the assembly line until 2011. In 2017, the name Eclipse reappeared in the gamut of the Japanese brand, but hardly in the form in which fans of the brand expected it most of all – now they decided to name the compact SUV that received the Cross prefix. We also became interested in what a modern Mitsubishi sports coupe might look like.
If such a car appeared in the current realities, then for sure it would have been made on the platform of some existing model. One of the options is the new Nissan Z , which premiered in August last year, because both Japanese companies are part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which was formed in 2016. That is what we took as the basis for our renders. The Mitsubishi version could get the original design of the front honor: a wide trapezoidal radiator grill located in the bumper and narrow horizontal headlights. The first generations of the Eclipse model have a similar solution. The sides are made relatively simple in form, and the window sill line only rises slightly towards the back. Lanterns have a design in the style of other novelties and concepts of the brand.
The car shown in the renderings, like the Nissan Z, is made on a rear-wheel drive FM platform, unlike previous generations of front-wheel drive Eclipse. A feature of this platform is the engine located within the wheelbase (by the way, the predecessor of the Nissan coupe with the 370Z index was also made on the same trolley). The distance between the axles is 2550 mm, and the length of the Nissan Z compared to the previous generation has increased by 114 mm and reached 4379 mm. As for the engine, Nissan received a 3-liter V6 biturbo engine with a capacity of 405 hp. (475 Nm) paired with a 6-speed “mechanics” or a 9-speed “automatic” from Jatco. In line with current trends in the automotive industry, the new Eclipse could also be an electric car, Meanwhile, last year we tested an updated version of Eclipse Cross. We also previously talked about the experience of owning a third generation Eclipse Spyder convertible.
