Surprisingly Stock: 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T

If you came of age in the 90s, or were otherwise still following vehicular trends at the time, you inevitably saw the Mitsubishi Eclipse rise to prominence in the sport compact community. It certainly helped that the car was a star in the original The Fast and the Furious movie, but it also led to numerous vehicles being modified and modified again by a parade of owners who cared nothing for preservation. These days, finding a factory turbocharged Eclipse in bone-stock condition is all but impossible, making cars like this 1997 Eclipse GST convertible listed here on eBay exceedingly rare. The seller is asking just $9,650 or best offer.

The second-generation Eclipse took the original formula that worked so well and, like most second-generation cars, added size and weight. The Eclipse went from a chiseled, razor-edged car to a bit of a jelly bean. It also seemed to lose some of its edginess, as most Eclipse (and Eagle Talon) models you saw were naturally-aspirated, front-wheel drive commuter cars. Mitsubishi offered the coupe in GSX trim which combined the legendary 4G63 turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with all-wheel drive. The GS-T shown here gets the punchier powerplant, but makes do with front wheel-drive.

Years later, the cockpit still looks fairly racy with the iconic “pivot” of the center stack towards the driver, but it also looks comes off as low-rent in appearance. The high standards we have today for automotive interiors weren’t quite mainstream yet when this era of the Eclipse was made, so the Japanese automakers could continue to rest on the fact that windows, locks, and air conditioning would all function as they should even if the plastics and fabric felt chintzy. The combination of the turbocharged engine, a 5-speed, and a soft top has to be fairly hard to find among Eclipses, so I’d wager we won’t see another one spec’d like this anytime soon.

The 4G63T engine is a legend among import tuner culture, even if it’s somewhat infamous for “crankwalk” issues.” Out of the box, it pushed 210 turbocharged horses to the front wheels, and even more if you dared to increase the boost. A front mount intercooler, engine mapping software, and an exhaust could quickly unleash new amounts of performance but reliability often suffered as a result given the car wasn’t known to be overbuilt in stock form. If I were in the market, I’d simply enjoy this car as-is, but for anyone who collects the so-called “DSM” cars, waiting for a GSX coupe may be the smarter move. Still, this price is more than fair for a car like this.