Sedans have always been an integral part of 1990s automotive motoring. An in-between alternative to the big bad four-by-four brutes and the wee pea-sized compacts. For the longest time, it has ushered an era of sophistication, class, and performance, nearly competing head-to-head against the finest super cars of that era, with the extra assurance that you could go to the supermarket and back without having to stick your newly bought 25inch LED TV on top of an ever flimsy, barren roof space. Throughout the course of 10 years, from 1990 all the way to the turn of the millennium, a number of high class sedans have proved themselves worthy of making history: Ford with their Taurus SHO in the late 1980s, packed with a Yamaha-built V6 which screamed all the way to the heavens and became one of the most slept on cars to hit American roads. BMW with their performance E34 M5, a marvel of advanced German engineering that brought about a new definition of sports saloon car performance, and Toyota themselves with their Lexus LS400, a car which quite literally changed the world as we know it. The competition to claim the title of best sedan became ever fiercer as the 90s progressed, and Mitsubishi Motor Company certainly took this as a chance to prove themselves in such a tight market. Their answer? The Galant VR-4, a pseudo-supercomputer saloon-slash-sports tourer which blends aggressive performance and cutting edge sophistication into a fine mix of 90s excess.
Before the Galant VR-4 became what it was known at that era, it was already kicking up a good amount of dirt in the World Rally Championship, replacing the then-outdated Starion Turbo coupe rally entree. Short for "Victory Runner 4WD", The original E39A VR-4 Galant, with its turbocharged 2.0 L 4G63 inline-four and a full time four-wheel-drive system adopted from the prototype Starion 4WD, with the help of drivers Kenneth Eriksson and Kenjiro Shinozuka, alongside its fellow Japanese comrade, the ST165 Celica GT-FOUR, brought about a relentless trot to the stages, giving European behemoths such as Ford Europe's Sierra Cosworth and Lancia's barbaric Delta HF Integrales a good run for their sausages and pepperonis. The road-going VR-4 excelled even further with advanced technology, bringing in four wheel steering and four wheel ABS into the mix. Soon enough, the success of the VR-4 became the brain child to Mitsubishi Motor Company's Lancer Evolution models, a compact sedan which would later on be regarded as one of the most successful rally cars to compete in the world famous loose surface endurance event. Mitsubishi scored gold with the VR-4, and in 1992, they brought in a new VR-4 model based on the E50-series Galants. Of course, with the Galant being replaced by the Lancer Evolution on WRC, there wasn't any need to conform to regulations, and so begins the "luxury phase" of the VR-4, where it was given a hearty 2.0 L V6 engine called the 6A12, but this time carrying two turbochargers capable of producing north of 240PS on its manual trim. The new VR-4 introduced a modern era for the sports saloon in the 90s, and in 1996, the pursuit of high-tech advancement was pushed even further.
When the all new EA/EC platform was announced, it brought about a nearly complete re-design towards the Galant. Offered in both a sedan and wagon body (known as the Legnum), gone was the sluggish blob-like design of the previous E50-series, and in was a fresher take on both cars, combining the grandeur body shape of the E50 while incorporating a few key elements from the sharp E30-series (not to be confused with the Beamer). Not only was the design much more refined from its predecessor, Mitsubishi had gone and made two breakthroughs with this particular Galant generation, the first of which is their direct injection GDI engine, a world's first for a mass production car. In simple terms, unlike port injection engines which place their injectors at the intake runners, direct injection engines have their injectors positioned directly at the side of the combustion chamber, providing instantaneous fuel spray into the chamber as a way to reduce exhaust emissions and increase engine efficiency. But of course, the star of the show remained to be the VR-4 model itself. The old 6A12 is now replaced by a even bigger double overhead cam 6A13 V6, displacing upwards of 2500 cubic centimeters (2498cc to be exact), a good 500 more than the previous 6A12, and the treat? Still packing the same twin turbochargers as was the E50-series VR-4s, amounting to 280PS worth of ponies with an absurd 37 kg-m figure for torque. Such figures was simply monstrous for a sedan its age, almost matching itself with Mitsubishi's sport 6G72 twin turbo V6, which made about the same power.
Interior was just enough for a car of its class, nothing too fancy nor special that screams attention. The dash is somewhat generic 90s sedan with a hint of NSX-like slant on the center console, and there was also an option for a wood engrained console piece offered on the more luxury-oriented models. The side door cards. Usual standard leather. So was the seats, which seem to be pretty standard for what is supposedly a four wheel drive twin-turbo charged freight train, although it does seem to give a bit of support with relatively blocky bolsters emerging from either sides of the seat. Steering wheel is oftentimes generic as well, although in the VR-4, there was an option to incorporate the Lancer Evolution's three-spoke Momos as a way to give the sports saloon an appropriated feel inside of the interior. Don't expect anything racey either out of the tachometer, a simple, yet again bland black on white set is what all eyes are going to see when driving. Like the Starlet Turbos, this isn't a car you would want to experience just for the interior alone, as it feels lacking compared to the exclusitivity of even its Toyota and Nissan rivals like the Skyline and Chaser. Much cannot be said the same for its suspension system however. With a multi-link setup derived from rally know-how, the Galant VR-4 not only could shoot straight through, but it could also ricochet with ease as well. Crowned to being Japan's Car of the Year 1996 along with being the first to adopt a direct injection engine, the 8th-generation Galant was simply an excellent cornerstone of 90s technological advancement. However, such praises and milestones weren't enough to satisfy Mitsubishi Motor Company's insatiable hunger for research and development. Enter the second breakthrough of the 8th-generation Galant.
AYC, or short for Active Yaw Control, A torque-vectoring "limited slip differential" which shifts and transfers torque to either the left or right wheel, depending on whether the car is understeering or oversteering. Only available in the VR-4, it comprises of two major parts: a multitude of sensors and a huge mechanical actuator situated on where the rear differential would have been, hence the apostrophe earlier. Consisting of a longitudinal acceleration sensor. Front and rear lateral acceleration sensors. Steering angle sensor. Wheel rotational speed sensor, and a final throttle input sensors. These little chips controlled by the ECU itself is what would dictate specific information on specific parameters of the vehicle's performance. Meanwhile, the actuator on the other hand, with multiple clutches and an electronic hydraulic unit, will receive the information sent by the sensors, where it will detect the amount of torque input that needs to be transferred to the right or left wheel. What could ensue afterwards is what many people describe to be a weird "push understeer" handling, in which the further the accelerator is pressed down, and the further the steering wheel is turned, the more the car will turn, resulting in the need for a counter-intuitive mindset to be able to fully understand and master the car. The EC5A VR-4 became the first car to use Mitsubishi's ingenious "LSD" system, before eventually being incorporated into the CN9A Lancer Evolution IV a few months later.
Monstrous engine performance and on rails handling created by the EC5A VR-4 was just too good to be true. Unfortunately however, Mitsubishi did not have any plans to use the VR-4 in rallies or touring car races anymore, as it was substituted by a then-reigning Evolution IV, the sports GT equivalent GTO, as well as its compact cousin, the FTO. All racing in the fierce competition of Group A rallying, N1 Taikyu, and the All Japan GT Championship (JGTC). With nowhere to go, the VR-4 only became an option for the sports minded uncle who wanted near BMW levels of performance with a Japanese twist, sans other options like the Skyline or the Chaser. For the slightly extreme-oriented customers however, Mitsubishi made a limited edition "Super VR-4" to satisfy their needs, a light-tuned EC5A shod in a bodykit which you would find in any Import Showoff show car from 2003. Big "Evo style" spoiler. Aggressive bumpers. All the works. The EA/EC-generation Galants, including the VR-4, lived on to see a total of six different Lancer Evolution generations, starting from the Evo IV all the way to the Evo IX in 2005. By that time, sales of saloons and sedans have plummeted, no longer were the general public interested to buying themselves an automobile of that genre, slowly shifting their preferences to the spacious and robustness of a minivan or a sports utility vehicle, SUV in short. Alas, in 2006, the Galant name plate was finally shut down, as there was not enough demand for Mitsubishi themselves to make a living out of those now-outdated sedans. Although Mitsubishi themselves tried reviving the name and the spirit with their Galant Fortis "Ralliart" in 2015, nothing could simply match the brutality and finesse of a VR-4, as one might argue. Simply one of the last engineering excellences of the 1990s.
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