The year is 1971. The Big Three are launching counterattacks to fend
off the foreign small-car invasion. Ford has its Pinto, Chevy the two-time
Motor Trend Car of the Year Vega (ahem...); but Chrysler, lacking the investment
capital to develop its own, adopts two of the first captive imports: the Plymoth
Cricket and the Dodge Colt.

Many may not recall the infamous Cricket, imported from (surprise) Great
Britain and enjoying a life expectancy just barely into the five digit figure on the ado,
but nearly twenty years later, the made-by- Mitsubishi Dodge Colt nameplate is still
going strong. Originally a solid little rear drive platform with a strong hemi-head
four-banger, the Colt stepped into the modern age in 1979 with the adoption of
front-wheel drive, an innovative eight speed dual-range gearbox, and in '84 a
wild turbo version that was arguably the first true pocket rocket. A year later, the
revised Colt Turbo debuted, using the same drivetrain on d much-improved sus-
pension and, in partnership with its sister, the Mirage, was sold at the new chain
of Mitsubishi dealerships.

By 1989, however, the Colt was beginning to get lost in the flood of sporty
little hatchbacks. Enter the Dodge Colt GT DOHC Turbo.
This was another quantum leap forward for the Colt, and an impressive
volley in the war for the enthusiast buyer's buck. The new Colt matched an
even stronger powerplant with a more refined functional, and highly capable body/chassis.

This new engine was updated with multi-point fuel injection, double overhead
cams, and four valves per cylinder. The frosting on this high tech cake was the
turbo. Combined with the quad valves in each head, this engine had a very broad
powerband. Normally, a street turbo must be rather small to reduce turbo lag, but this
leads to poor flow at high RPM. However, add a few more valves and more air can get
in and out of the cylinder, curing the high rev asthma. The three thousand RPM
spread between the torque and power peaks was indicative of the success of this
design. The Colt DOHC Turbo generated a meaty 141 ft/lbs. at a relatively low
3000 RPM, then held on all the way to a 135 HP peak at 6000 RPM and continued
to breathe freely all the way to its 7000 RPM redline.

Not only was the output of this engine impressive, but the way it was delivered
was surprisingly sophisticated. This little 1.6 liter belied its humble origins with
smoothness and refinement. It came on boost without a dicey explosion, more like
the rush of a swing on a grade-school playground.

The fact is, this whole car belied its humble origins. From the engine to the
gearbox to the look and feel of the interior and controls, there was refinement. Such
finesse was not to be expected from what was essentially a hopped-up economy car,
but somebody forgot to tell the Colt GT Turbo.

From the driver's seat, the view was commanding. The shifter fell easily to hand
and moved with an expensive feel, firm but slick. The seats themselves were widely
praised by our many-sized editorial staff. and distinguished themselves as a rare
design that offered good support to the lower lumbar region of the occupant's
back. A very handsome wheel adjusted by tilt and telescope and enclosed extra-large
size tach and speedo, the latter good for a whimsical 150 MPH. Rear headroom al-
lowed a six-footer to sit straight and proud in an unusually hospitable environment.

The Colt's Turbo rendition was pretty from the doors forward, but the unique tail
was a bit awkward. The car looked and felt tall, high on its springs and tall-bodied.
Most editors liked it a lot-sorta. Testers seemed to feel it was almost pretty, cute
but funky. "The tail has some strange compound curves," said one; several
mentioned that they'd like to see it lower. Overall, certainly a very attractive and
modern hatchback. We think.

On the road, the Colt GT Turbo squirted through traffic like a powered water gun,
shooting into holes in the highway slalom course with confidence and quickness. The
chassis was very happy on the back roads, too. This car needed to be on an autocross
course. Though the spring/shock setup tended toward the soft end of the spec-
trum, the grip produced was prodigious. Once accustomed to the moderate body
roll, the driver found a real charger that was exceptionally quick in the transitions and
swept around bends with good balance. Our editors' notes often lauded the han-
dling capabilities of this Dodge by Mitsubishi.

Once all this swooping and flinging about needed to be slowed, some very
assertive four-wheel discs dropped anchor with authority (and produced a nose-dive
of truly historic proportions). While stability remained very good, the view of the
pavement through the windshield did take a little getting used to.

After braking hard and analyzing the composition of the asphalt approaching
tight corners, we were able to drop down a gear to blast outta there. We matched
revs 'cause the synchro was just a tad slow, yyyaannnggaa, heel and toe no problem,
good pedals, turn-in... wow! lots of roll, but it went right where we wanted it...
made the transition to a kiss of power, waited for the apex-made it late,
squeezed it down as we straightened the wheel and zowie! holy smoothness, Bat-
man, the Colt was just whistling away, clean and sure! This was probably the best
powerful front-drive car we'd tried for taming those sometimes dicey tendencies.
In fact, in our testing, the Colt was over a second faster than some competitors in a
single five-second segment of our course, the segment coming out of a tight turn to
the finish lights.

Much like its bigger Eclipse/Talon sib ling, the 1989 Colt Turbo and its twin, the
Mitsubishi Mirage, represented an amaz ing amount of car for the dollar. Base price
was just $11,969, including most of the Turbo features less air--cheap for this kind
of performance and refinement. Furthermore, the car was so little known that
buyers seldom found themselves in a bidding war with a hundred others.