Mitsubishi 3000GT could return

The Mitsubishi 3000GT was a Japanese performance coupe built between 1990 and 2000… and it could make a comeback in the 2020s.

What you see here is a rendering of the Mitsubishi ‘4000GT’ created by Matthew Parsons via design portal Behance, which proposes one design direction that could be taken for a potential remake of the Mitsubishi sports car.

The Mitsubishi 3000GT – or GTO, as it was also called – was originally powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 in the 1990s, when it rumbled with the likes of the Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7 and Nissan 300ZX of the era.

And its successor could also be powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, supplied by Nissan.

Given the industrial alliance within which Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault now operate, Mitsubishi could further leverage the recently-announced ‘leader-follower’ platform sharing strategy recently outlined by the three car-makers as part of their new business plan, under which the next Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton utes will be twins under the skin.

If Mitsubishi can form a solid business case for a born-again sports car – as Toyota did with its reincarnated Supra, thanks to the BMW Z4 – the upcoming Nissan 400Z would appear to be the ideal donor vehicle.

Expected to launch in 2021, the new Nissan 400Z will be powered by an Infiniti-sourced 3.0-litre turbo V6 outputting around 300kW/475Nm and would provide a new-generation Mitsubishi 3000GT with plenty of poke.

The rendering from Matthew Parsons presents a stocky, squat design that draws inspiration from the mid-1990s 3000GT, as evidenced by the front-end styling and roofline. There’s also a couple of futuristic design cues such as the vertical fin on the rear spoiler with integrated LED brake light.

As Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi continue to push ahead with more shared models to save development costs, including everything from dual-cab utes to compact hatches and SUVs, the burning question is: will this plan extend to sports cars?

Watch this space.