Mitsubishi Cordia

The front-wheel drive Mitsubishi Cordia made its debut in 1982 and was built until 1990. The model took its place among the Lancer and the Galant together with the larger Tredia and the Mirage. The Cordia was one of the first cars that Mitsubishi imported and sold in the United States without the help of Chrysler Corporation, which had an interest in Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi Cordia

The 4,28-meter-long Cordia came standard with a 68 hp 1,4-liter engine. However, there was a choice of three engines:

• 68 hp 1,4-liter
• 74-87 hp 1,6-liter
• 112 hp turbo 1,6-liter

Some export markets also received a carb-fed 110 hp 1,6-liter. An American version of the 2,0-liter generated 88 hp for the 1984 model. Mitsubishi integrated MacPherson struts/axle suspension, front disc brakes, and offered the model with a manual or automatic transmission.

The special Supershift in the Mitsubishi Cordia

Super shift on the Mitsubishi Cordia

The Super Shift transmission, also marketed as Twin-Stick, was a manual transaxle transmission developed by Mitsubishi Motors in the late 1970s and used in a limited number of the company's road cars, most of which were produced in the 1980s. It was unusual because it had 8 forward gears in a 4×2 configuration. It essentially installed a coupled overdrive unit on the manual gearbox, something rare in a production car of this type.

Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo

The model received a minor facelift in 1983, and the option of four-wheel drive was offered in 1984. The engines were modified in 1985 to allow the cars to run on unleaded fuel with the introduction of a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine producing 100 hp and a 135 hp turbocharged version.