The past few years of rallying were dominated by Volkswagen. Before that, it was all about Citroën. But back in the 1990s, Mitsubishi was king of the hill.
Though it didn’t win as many constructors’ titles as its arch-rival Subaru, Mitsubishi won four back-to-back drivers titles in the World Rally Championship between 1996 and ’99. And that’s not even counting all the local, national, and regional titles it took in that same era.
These days, of course, Mitsubishi is all about crossovers. But if you remember when it was a juggernaut in rallying, your opportunity could be staring you in the face right now.
It’s a 1990 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Group A rally car. It’s not a top-tier Lancer Evo (like the ones that would follow). But it did win the Rallye Côte d’Ivoire Bandama that year, which gives it a bit of provenance to go with its rough-and-tumble build and appearance. And best of all, it could be yours.
One of only 5,000 examples that Ralliart made (in order to meet homologation standards), the car was discovered by its current owner at a local dealership on the Ivory Coast. He then brought it back to France and restored to its former glory – complete with its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, all-wheel drive, and four-wheel steering.
RM Sotheby’s will sell it off next weekend in Monaco. There it expects the Diamond-Star rally machine to fetch somewhere in the €90,000-130,000 range. That’d work out to about $108-155k at current exchange rates. So if you’re looking to score a piece of the action from Mitsubishi’s glory days, this could be your chance.