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The Mitsubishi FTO is 30 years old: here’s a used one we found for £12k

Your chance to own one of the rarest Japanese sportscars in the UK

Published: 22 Aug 2024

Perhaps dismissively, it’s the ‘Supra we have at home’. But less cynically, it’s a cool, fun and extraordinarily rare Japanese sportscar. Welcome to this week’s possibly random pick from the interwebs: a delightful Mitsubishi FTO.

Though, not that random. Incredibly, this svelte coupe is 30 years old in 2024, a big anniversary for a car that made a small footprint, at least in the UK. It was never meant to travel overseas – originally planned only for the Japanese domestic market (JDM) – but grey imports proved Brits rather took to its charms.

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And it has many. Yes, it’s a front-wheel-drive sportscar, but it’s a good one. Mitsubishi offered the FTO in either a 1.8-litre four-cylinder that you don’t want, or a 2.0-litre V6 that you really do, especially in the ‘MIVEC’ trim (Mitsi’s own variable valve timing tech).

That latter engine pushed out just under 200bhp, which packaged up with a manual gearbox inside a car weighing around 1,200kg amounted to a surprisingly alert drive. The engine sounded great, too.

Because of its rarity and age, it’s getting increasingly difficult to find a half-decent one – there are a few non-runners knocking around the ads, along with a few cheap examples that need work, but we’ve found a mint, white FTO GPX claiming ‘no rust’. No rust is good.

It’s also a manual, appears to be in great condition, and has covered 136k. The ad states it's had the same owner for the last eight years, no MOT advisories for the last five, and ‘drives amazing’. It’s currently advertised on that popular online auction site for £11,995, which is good value for bagging a rare performance coupe.

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Yes, you might have to cringe when you explain to your friends that FTO stands for ‘Fresh Touring Organisation’, and then bat off claims that it’s ‘the Supra we have at home’, but you’ll be the owner of a handsome, capable and super rare JDM special.

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