The Mitsubishi Eclipse From The Fast And Furious
Let's discuss what made the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse so famous, the history behind this powerful sports car, and where it is today.
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You’ve probably watched The Fast and Furious starring Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker as Brian O’Connor. If you haven’t - take note that we’re not talking about the current Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross from Group 1 Mitsubishi. The 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse took the role of Brian O’Connor’s first race car in the movie. Today, it is deeply admired by fans of The Fast and Furious and motor enthusiasts alike.
It was this exhilarating action movie that brought the sports car to popularity. Although it wasn’t only the movie that made it famous, its fame is also credited to its incredible speed and amazing performance.
The Eclipse flaunts a top speed of an astounding 220 km/h, only taking 9.4 seconds to accelerate. And in The Fast and Furious, they style it with a Blitz body kit. For interest sake - the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross SUV has a top speed of 200km/h.
The lime green colour was the inspiration behind fans referring to Brain O’Connor’s first race car, simply as "the green car". Although many can confidently say the Eclipse has impressive features, and it is truly an iconic car that many people won’t forget, the real question is: What is it about the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse that had everyone so excited?
Let's discuss what made the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse so famous, the history behind this powerful sports car, and where it is today.
The History Of The 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse
The Mitsubishi Eclipse was manufactured as a second-generation version after the first generation of Mitsubishi Eclipse in 1994. Both models reconditely followed the style of the small sports coupes that buyers favoured.
Because of how easy it was to add modifications to the Mitsubishi Eclipse, it also made the car more desirable on the market.
Mitsubishi and Chrysler’s Diamond Star Motors (DSM) formed a joint-venture called Diamond Star Motors. Under this partnership, they produced the second-generation Mitsubishi Eclipse at their factory in Normal, Illinois.
They kept the commercially adored all-wheel drive and turbo features for the 1995 Eclipse. This and restyling the Eclipses’ interior had buyers fawning over this round-shaped model, similar to the 2013 Toyota 86.
It is no wonder why the Eclipse was made the focal point of The Fast and Furious movie. On that note, let’s discuss the Eclipse’s role in The Fast and Furious.
The Eclipse’s Feature In Fast And Furious
The Eclipse was owned by John Lupid before they brought it into the scenes of The Fast and Furious. The now-famous sports car was originally dark green and then silver. When Lapid rented the Eclipse to Universal, they painted it shocking green and made it O’Connor’s first race car.
To win the trust of Toretto, O’Connor enters his very first street race. He buffs up his inexperienced street racing skills to beat Los Angeles’ top street racer and takes the Eclipse for a test drive. But O’Connor fails to keep control of the car, yet still takes it to the race, hoping to claim Toretto’s crown.
Despite O’Connor’s optimism and faith that the Eclipse would take him past the finish line first, Toretto ultimately wins the race driving a Mazda RX-7. O’Connor lost because, during the race, the Eclipse fell apart as he just used way too much NOS.
But ultimately, based on the super-performance of the Mazda RX-7 and how upgraded it was, the question begs: Would O’Connor have won the race, anyway?
His loss doesn’t prevent a smile from spreading across O’Connor’s face as he feels he almost had Torreto. Demonstrating another one of The Fast and Furious’s warm moments.
Finally, Torreto takes the Eclipses’ pink slip, but that is not the last of the Mitsubishi Eclipses’ feature.
Later in the movie, O’Connor uses the Eclipse to save Toretto’s life, regardless of how hard Toretto schooled him earlier. Unfortunately, distracted, O’Connor drives the sports car into another gang’s territory. After an unexpected shootout, the Mitsubishi Eclipse is famously blown to bits.
Compared to many more expensive, faster, or attractive cars in The Fast and Furious, the Eclipse truly stood out. But why is that?
Why Is The Mitsubishi Eclipse Unique?
Aside from the Eclipses’ shocking green paint job and bold features, much more made the Mitsubishi Eclipse special in The Fast and Furious.
One of these reasons is because this was O'Connor's very first race car. This fact was sentimental to the millions (if not billions) of diehard The Fast and Furious fans. O’Connor racing with the Eclipse marked the beginning of his journey as a street racer.
When O’Connor lost to Toretto in the Eclipse, this was a memorable moment up to The Fast and Furious Five when Toretto lets O’Connor win in honor of the birth of O’Connor’s child. It was the first time O’Connor won a race to Toretto, and this forced fans to think back on how badly O’Connor performed in their first face.
Also, the relationship between Toretto and O’Connor grows tremendously those moments like when O’Connor saved Toretto using the Eclipse stand out so much. That moment was another building block to the street-racer family that O’Connor and Toretto later build.
Overall, the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse may not be as historic as the Lincoln Continental convertible from Entourage is. But it played an unforgettable role in how the story of The Fast and Furious developed.
Though the memorable green Mitsubishi Eclipse race car will be forever beloved.. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross SUV is taking centre stage now...
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