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TopGear 1995 wrote:Bravo, Mitsubishi! It's been a long time since we've witnessed such courage from a Japanese manufacturer. The courage, that is, to release a car with true character and even a splash of originality. Meet the Mitsubishi FTO, Japan's Car of the Year for 1994. The FTO is based on the chassis of the Lancer/Mirage series and features two engines already in use - the 1.8-litre four-cylinder and the two-litre V6 - and a new, beefed-up, two-litre V6 MIVEC engine. But first we must mention the INVECS II (Intelligent and Innovative Vehicle Electronic Control System II), gearchange. It incorporates a Neural Network which works in a similar way to the decision-making process of the human brain. Data on a driver's preferences is fed into a Learning Control circuit, which selects the optimal gear for that particular driver. It also has an all-new sports mode, or a Japanese version of the Porsche Tiptronic gearbox. This new system, which costs roughly half that of the Porsche variety, allows the driver to select manual operation and, yes, drive the car as he would drive a manual. The result is excellent. In sports mode, just a quick flick of the gear knob forwards or backwards is enough to engage the desired gear with lightning response. You also have the option of pushing the engine right up to its unusually high 8,000rpm redline before firing in the next gear. The car handles superbly. Front suspension is by MacPherson struts with stabilisers and the rear is by multi-link, giving the FTO a very stable but sporty ride. The suspension has been further tuned to enhance its cornering ability and, with the exception of a little understeer, the results are good. The interior layout and instrumentation are in keeping with the sporty feel. Seats are comfortable and supportive and the dashboard features basic yet well located dials and switches. With prices starting at the equivalent of about £11,000, the FTO's value for money is exceptional. But don't get too excited. With a baffling disregard for the need to hit Europe with something 'original', the Japanese are, as usual, keeping their best to themselves. The 1994 Japanese Car of the Year is staying at home. Shame Peter Lyon
TopGear 1999 wrote:As I yump the hill the Honda Integra Type-R screams up alongside me. He swings violently in my direction and our doors contact with a crunch. Hauling the FTO's steering wheel back over I send him spinning off the road and then opposite-lock my way to victory and an imaginary chequered flag. Such is my only previous experience of the Mitsubishi FTO. Only a virtual one it's been too, gathered from many thumb-chafing hours lashing about in the wackiest Japanese motors on the PlayStation best-seller Gran Turismo. I've been denied the full on-road excitement promised by the real FTO because, until now, the slinky sportster has officially been on sale in Japan only. You've probably seen the odd grey import tooling about but it has taken this long - five years since the FTO was first unleashed on its home market - for Mitsubishi to get the message and finally bring the car here. Time, then, to find out whether the FTO really does live up to the Gran Turismo hype. So out of the TG games room and off to deepest, dreariest Doodloy (sorry, Dudley, near Birmingham) I was sent to find Ralliart UK's headquarters. Ralliart UK are the people who gave us the staggering Lancer Evo VI and who now are responsible for importing the FTO and the Galant VR-4 (see next page) too - and you can buy either through any Mitsubishi dealer in the UK. Eyeballing my FTO for the first time, the squat coupe has a touch of DB7 about its front end and a hint of Fiat Coupe about the rear. The cabin, meanwhile, offers all the cosseting ambience of Crawley job centre. Oh dear, it's all very brittle and plasticky in there. Very Japanese, in fact. But all this is forgotten with a turn of the ignition key. Under this £22,995 FTO GPX's nose is a highly strung two-litre V6, its wicked shriek - woken by a prod of the right foot - being all the encouragement I need to escape the confines of the Midlands. Heading out west the roads soon turn from scuzz-strewn rat runs to wildly snaking black-top. There's not even a Gatso in sight. I want to play, but first impressions are that this non-virtual Mitsubishi FTO doesn't quite have the go to match up to its PlayStation counterpart. At low revs it would stuggle to keep up with a diesel Astra. Then I focus harder on the rev-counter. It's barely touching 4,000rpm - and there's another 4,250 revs to go. More throttle matched by more bottle produces a shimmy of the driven front wheels before the FTO finally surges onwards with quite alarming thrust. Now I know how Laika the cosmonaut dog felt on her one-way trip into orbit. The rocket boosting in this case is provided by a cunning MIVECS variable valve system that switches between cam profiles to give a frenzied VTEC-like top-end buzz. The V6's full 197bhp isn't given until 7,500rpm, not long before nudging the red line. So yes, you could say it's a bit peaky. Migraine sufferers should be warned that the FTO begs to be thrashed constantly. By the time the needle slips past 6k, the din builds to such levels that turning my head inside an industrial lathe would be more calming. Meanwhile, outside, the gaping HKS exhaust gives a booming warning to other road users that they're about to be FTO-ed. On open roads, snick down through the slick five-speed 'box and dawdlers are dealt with ruthlessly. Thankfully the FTO's chassis is up to taming this manic power delivery. There's little movement in the suspension, the car staying neutral and settled when tanking from bend to bend. Now things are about to get scary. I reach the Burway, a broken stretch of mountainous single track with nothing but sheep between the road and the valley way below. Here the FTO's beefy 205-section tyres on 16-inch alloys grip as tight as I dare push them. But the narrow turns and tightening radii make the chassis lose some of the neutral fluidity it exhibited through open bends, and it needs to be fought harder to make quick progress. The deepest ruts, meanwhile, are met by harsh resistance from the suspension. Dedication, you might say, is what you need. Reaching the road's summit, I pull over... and breathe. Time to pause and reconsider. Even under Mitsubishi's own terms this FTO remains a grey import (as does the Galant to your right), as it hasn't got full European type approval and is imported under Single Vehicle Approval rules. Yet the difference between this and grey imports sourced from less reputable suppliers is that it's undersealed, has an electrical system capable of dealing with the UK's climate and offers the reassurance of three years' warranty back-up from Mitsubishi, to ensure that owners can keep on enjoying their own slice of Oriental entertainment. To drivers with the commitment, there's nothing to stop me making a recommendation. In fact the FTO is a such a hoot, I'm going to keep on going until I get to Wales - then I'll keep on going some more. When I eventually get back to the office, the PlayStation will be the first thing out the window.
Sorry ... it`s Deans foult He provoked me 
