Mitsubishi Diamante: История и Эволюция Модели

The Mitsubishi Diamante is an automobile that was manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors from 1990 to 2005. The first series was a hardtop introduced to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1989. It went on sale in Japan exclusively in May 1990 and won that year's Japan Car of the Year award. It was created by splicing an extra right down the middle of the Mitsubishi Galant, which itself had won the Japan Car of the Year award in 1987. The Diamante's platform was also used for the sporty Mitsubishi 3000GT. The name Diamante was derived from the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian word for "diamond" and was adopted also as homage to the Mitsubishi badge which is composed of three diamonds. In Japan, this vehicle was sold at a specific retail chain called Car Plaza.

From 1991, a more conventional Diamante derived Mitsubishi Sigma sedan was also built in Japan for its domestic and European export markets. It became the basis of the second generation Magna independently built in Australia. Its Australian luxury derivate, sold as the Verada, became the Diamante for export markets including New Zealand and North America a year later. The Wagon version was also exported including to Japan. There have been rumors that the Diamante was either not intended for a Japanese launch, or it might have been planned as a low volume model. The reason for this argument is that until 1989, the width of vehicles impacted the taxation class. The Diamante, being wider than the breakpoint, would have suffered a large tax penalty against most of its rivals, which were designed to be just inside that vital limit. At the time, Mitsubishi's international image was also considered less than ideal for the marketing of a luxury car — its most expensive offering at the time, the Debonair, was largely seen as a company car project for Mitsubishi conglomerate executives. The Diamante's introduction was the result of the Honda/Acura Legend, which caught manufacturers by surprise when it appeared in 1986, inspiring the creation of the Lexus and Infiniti divisions, as well as various executive car class vehicles to be revised as a result. Mitsubishi needed to compete with the Legend and the Diamante was the result. However, the tax situation changed in 1989, and the Diamante became the surprise hit of 1990. Amidst Japan's bubble economy, many private car owners sought an executive car in a market that had very few new offerings that year.

The Diamante sedan was first sold in the United States in spring 1991 for model year 1992, replacing the Sigma. Mitsubishi Motors North America sourced their Diamante hardtop sedans from Japan and the wagons, introduced in late 1992 for model year 1993, from Australia. The LS sedan got a dual cam version of the 6G72, rated at .

The Australian built first generation Diamante was manufactured in Adelaide, South Australia. It was marketed in its domestic market as the Verada, which was a more luxurious version of the more mainstream second generation Australian made Magna, both based on the Japanese Sigma. This model was the only one also built as a wagon that, along with the sedan, was intended for both the Australian domestic and export markets.

In European markets, the Sigma was only available with the 3 liter, V6 engine. The 24 valve version produces , while the 12 valve V6 produces In March 1993 the Australian built Sigma Station Wagon this was the only option for the Sigma Station Wagon. The 12 valve engine in the sedan and in the Australian built wagon, introduced in March 1993. All versions were available with either a five speed manual or a four speed automatic (with different importers choosing whether or not to offer all iterations), but the manual options were discontinued in mid 1995. The station wagon had a simpler, more compact rear suspension to free up luggage space. However, the station wagon also had a lower maximum load than the sedan, at including passengers, which somewhat limited its utility.

Year U. S. sales 1993 25,267 1994 18,096