The Mitsubishi SUP is a concept car developed by Mitsubishi Motors in 2001, first exhibited as a hardtop at the 35th Tokyo Motor Show in 2001,[1] and later at the 2002 North American International Auto Show and Geneva Motor Show as a Mitsubishi SUP Cabriolet. The name SUP stands for "Sports Utility Pack", with Mitsubishi claiming that it was designed "for nature lovers who are...happy using hi-tech gadgets and gizmos Monday to Friday; then out for a bunch of fun communing with nature at weekends and holidays."[1]
A concept car is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not be mass-produced. General Motors designer Harley Earl is generally credited with inventing the concept car, and did much to popularize it through its traveling Motorama shows of the 1950s.
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. In 2011, Mitsubishi Motors was the sixth-biggest Japanese automaker and the nineteenth-biggest worldwide by production. From October 2016 onwards, Mitsubishi has been one-third (34%) owned by Nissan, and thus a part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance.
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed, detachable for separate storing or retractable within the vehicle itself.
It was one of four concept vehicles produced by the company in the five-month period following the appointment of Olivier Boulay as its head of design in 2001, after DaimlerChrysler's purchase of a controlling interest in Mitsubishi Motors. Boulay, the General Manager of DCX's Advanced Design Studio in Yokohama, was seconded to MMC, and immediately began creating a strong image for their cars through a common "face" seen on all the concepts, in the curvature of the lower edge of the grille, the size and shape of the badge and the sharp crease rising up the leading edge of the bonnet.[2] More radical styling concepts included the thick wraparound tubeline encircling the body which also housed the front and rear lamp units, detachable, semi-transparent body panels in the doors, and seatback-mounted backpacks. The hardtop's large louvred sunroof was replaced by a convertible top and hideaway rear glass in the cabriolet.[1][3]
Olivier Boulay is an automobile designer. Starting from 2009, he is the Vice President of Daimler's Advanced Design Centre in Beijing, China.
Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan by population, and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.
A grille or grill is an opening of several slits side-by-side in a wall, metal sheet or another barrier, usually to allow air or water enter and/or leave and prevent larger objects from going in or out.
A hybrid vehicle uses two or more distinct types of power, such as internal combustion engine to drive an electric generator that powers an electric motor, e.g. in diesel-electric trains using diesel engines to drive an electric generator that powers an electric motor, and submarines that use diesels when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox, a standard transmission or colloquially in some countries as a stick shift, is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications. It uses a driver-operated clutch, usually engaged and disengaged by a foot pedal or hand lever, for regulating torque transfer from the engine to the transmission; and a gear selector that can be operated by hand or foot.
The Mitsubishi 4G9 engine is a series of straight-4 automobile engines produced by Mitsubishi Motors. All are 16-valve, and use both single- and double- overhead camshaft heads. Some feature MIVEC variable valve timing, and it was the first modern gasoline direct injection engine upon its introduction in August 1996.
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A convertible or cabriolet is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary between models.
A convertible allows an open-air driving experience, with the ability to provide a roof when required. Potential drawbacks of convertibles are reduced structural rigidity and cargo space.
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, also known as 'Evo', is a sports sedan based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official versions to date, and the designation of each model is most commonly a Roman numeral. All use two litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder engines and all-wheel drive systems.
The Mitsubishi GTO is a front-engine, all-wheel drive 2+2 hatchback sports coupé manufactured and marketed by Mitsubishi for model years (MY) 1990-1999, across a single generation with one facelift. Manufactured in Nagoya, Japan, the four passenger coupés were marketed in the Japanese domestic market (JDM) as the GTO, globally as Mitsubishi 3000GT and in North America for MY 1991-1996 as the Dodge Stealth — the latter as a badge engineered, mechanically identical captive import. As a collaborative effort between Chrysler and its Japanese partner, Mitsubishi Motors, Chrysler was responsible for the Stealth's exterior styling.
Mitsubishi Colt is a nameplate from Mitsubishi that has been applied to a number of automobiles since 1962. It was first introduced with a series of kei and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then for the export version of the subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage between 1978 and 2002. Chrysler, Mitsubishi's longtime partner, also used the name when applying its long-running practice of rebadging Mitsubishi vehicles as the Dodge and Plymouth Colt captive imports for the North American market between 1970 and 1994.
The Mitsubishi i is a kei car from automaker Mitsubishi Motors, first released in January 2006, twenty eight months after its debut at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the first four-door automobile since the 1960s to employ a "rear midship" setup with the engine behind the passengers, in an attempt to improve safety and interior space without enlarging the overall exterior.
A retractable hardtop — also known as "coupé convertible" or "coupé cabriolet" — is a car with an automatically operated, self-storing hardtop, as opposed to the folding textile-based roof used by traditional convertible cars.
The Tokyo Motor Show (東京モーターショー) is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, and normally sees more concept cars than actual production car introductions which is the reason why the auto press see the show as one of the motorshow's big five.
The Mitsubishi Grandis is a seven seat MPV built by Mitsubishi Motors to replace its Chariot/Space Wagon/Nimbus line. It was launched on 14 May 2003 and was sold in Japan, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, and South America. Engines available were a 2.4 litre four-cylinder and a Volkswagen sourced 2.0 litre turbodiesel, badged DI-D rather than TDI as Volkswagen denotes it.
MIEV or MiEV is the name given by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors (MMC) to its alternative propulsion technologies.
From late 2006, “MiEV” encompasses all of Mitsubishi Motors’s electric drive systems work, including lithium-ion batteries, in-wheel motors and other technologies related to electric vehicle(EV), hybrid-electric vehicle and fuel-cell vehicles.
The Mitsubishi HSR is a range of concept cars exhibited by Mitsubishi Motors through the late 1980s and 1990s. There were six distinct iterations of the vehicle released biannually to coincide with the Tokyo Motor Show, with each model after the original identified by a Roman numeral suffixed to the name.
The Mitsubishi SUW is a series of concept cars sharing a common design theme, and first exhibited by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors at the 1999 Frankfurt and Tokyo Motor Shows.
The Mitsubishi Colt 600 is a five-seat, two-door passenger sedan produced by Shin Mitsubishi Heavy-Industries, Ltd - one of the companies which would become Mitsubishi Motors. It was rear-engined and rear wheel drive, powered by an air-cooled 594 cc twin-cylinder OHV engine producing 25 PS (18 kW), and debuted in July 1962 as the successor to the company's Mitsubishi 500 Super Deluxe. The 600 was the first Mitsubishi to bear the "Colt" name. Top speed was 100 km/h (62 mph).
The Mitsubishi MR platform is an automobile platform first developed by Mitsubishi Motors in 2003 for their Mitsubishi i kei car. The name is derived from the Mid-engined, Rear-wheel drive ("MR") configuration, which locates the powertrain behind the rear seat and just ahead of the rear axle. This allows for a longer wheelbase and a consequently more spacious interior without compromising crashworthiness or fuel economy.
The Mitsubishi Concept-ZT is a concept car developed by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors, and first exhibited at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in September 2007.
Mitsubishi Motors concepts are those prototype and concept cars exhibited around the world by Mitsubishi Motors. In common with other automakers, Mitsubishi has used concept cars as both show cars—stylistically adventurous motor show exhibits with no production intentions behind them—or as precursors of future models destined for mass production.
The Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV is a prototype plug-in hybrid crossover utility vehicle, first exhibited at the Tokyo Motor Show in September 2009. It uses an 85 kW 1.6-litre gasoline engine as a powerplant and generator for two 30 kW electric motors, one on each axle. Mitsubishi claims it to be capable of up to 50 kilometres per litre under optimal driving conditions.
