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Dashboard of the first Lancer
There were three 4-cylinder engine sizes – the 1200 cc Neptune OHV engine and the 1400 cc and 1600 cc SOHC Saturn engines. The 1400 cc was a long-stroker and actually had a displacement of 1439 cc. With a single carburettor, its output was 92 bhp at 6300 rpm, which was quite impressive in 1973. The 1600 cc engine had twin carburettors and produced 110 bhp at 6700 rpm. Though not available in Malaysia, the first generation already had a 3-speed automatic transmission as an option.
With this first generation, the Lancer made its mark on the rallying world, the start of a legendary model line which would become the World Rally Championship (WRC)-winning Evo series. Mitsubishi Motors entered Lancers in two famous rallies in the 1970s – the Safari Rally and the Southern Cross Rally – and won the events on many occasions, as well as other tough African rallies. With drivers like Joginder Singh (from Kenya) and Scotsman Andrew Cowan behind the wheel, the Lancer’s toughness was proven again and again, an important selling point for the model at a time when the durability of Japanese cars was still questioned. In Africa, its rally successes led people to dub it 'The King of Cars’.
For the second generation, which was launched in 1979, Mitsubishi Motors commissioned a European designer, Aldo Sessano, to help style the Lancer (although this was never publicised in the press releases) which is probably why it looked rather different from most Japanese cars of that era. It had a chunky wedged profile and a larger body with 100 mm more wheelbase.
2nd generation had the world's fastest 2-litre sedan when introduced in 1981. WRC version on the right had a 280 ps turbo engine
1983 Lancer F was the basis of the Proton Saga
The early 1980s saw the introduction of a front- wheel drive sedan model called the Lancer F, with a hatchback variant that was known as the Mirage or Colt. This marked the beginning of the switch to FWD for the Lancer while the second generation continued with RWD.
The Lancer F became the new generation of the Lancer in 1983 and was also the model which Mitsubishi Motors provided to the Malaysian government for its National Car Project which would see the clone becoming the Proton Saga.
In 1988, there was a model change to the 5th generation and then in 1991 came the 6th generation which Malaysians got as the Proton Wira in 1992. By then, the Lancer was 300 mm longer than the first generation and riding on a wheelbase that was 1600 mm more spacious. Apart from improved engines, this generation also got the INVECS transmission which had adaptive programming to 'learn’ the driving style of each driver and then optimise shifting. By then, there were at least five engine sizes and for the first time in its class, a 1600 cc V6 DOHC, 24-valve engine was also available.
The model launched in 1995 was designated the 7th generation of the Lancer. It was said to have been a major evolution of the model (drag coefficient was down to 0.30 Cd) and also served as the basis of the Evo 4 that was successful in the WRC. As before, there were hatchback and notchback variants, the former being known as the 'Mirage’. It is this generation’s Mirage which USPD – the joint-venture between the DRB Group and Proton – cloned to become the Satria.
Concept X, prototype for the latest Lancer
As the new millennium dawned, Mitsubishi Motors launched the 7th generation which also had the suffix 'Cedia’ (Century DIAmond). It was a slightly larger model and incorporated many technological advances. This generation was the one that marked the official return of the Lancer to Malaysia after Mitsubishi Motors voluntarily ceased officially selling cars below 2000 cc in the Malaysian market from 1985. Tracking the lineage of the Lancer through the generations is a bit difficult because, during the 1990s, the model was produced in many different countries and in some places, a previous generation was kept in production while a newer one that was launched in Japan was not introduced. India, for example, got the Lancer Cedia only in 2006 and the earlier generation remains on sale as well.
Financial difficulties hampered product development in the first half of the 1990s and it was only in late 2004 that work could be started on the 8th generation of the Lancer. The world got the first glimpse of the car as the Concept X which was unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motorshow.
REMEMBERING THE LANCER
Author (left) had his first rally experience with a Lancer in 1978 when he partnered Gary Chua in the Mitsubishi Rally Team
Celeste was the sporty coupe version of the first generation of the Lancer
The Mitsubishi Lancer was already an established model when I began my career as a motoring journalist in 1977 and is one of the more significant cars in my memory. It was in this car that I entered my first rallies as a member of the Mitsubishi team that was established by Cycle & Carriage Malaysia Sdn Bhd, then the distributor for Mitsubishi vehicles. Together with the Galant, the Lancer was among the more popular models in Malaysia after the Datsun 120Y and Toyota Corolla.
As a rallycar, the Lancer was certainly tough and with its Safari Rally victories, it only made us more enthusiastic about being in it. It handled well and the engine was very reliable, able to take modification and higher outputs without breaking. On one occasion, we crashed into an oil palm tree near Sungei Buloh in Selangor and managed to come out of the estate. The radiator was busted and we quickly stopped one of the service cars which was a Lancer, extracted the radiator and installed it in our Lancer and continued on to finish the rally!
With its 1.2 litre engine and 5-speed gearbox (then still something new and 'advanced’), the Lancer was also a fairly economical car. So the team also entered economy runs with it, such events being popular in those days. Incidentally, in 1978, it cost around RM14,000.
There was also a sporty variant called the Celeste which was a 2-door coupe on the same platform as the first generation. It was one of the cars I dreamed of getting but back then, my salary didn’t make it possible to afford the RM16,500 pricetag!
The second generation came to Malaysia in 1979 and it was quite an exciting new model because of its wedged shape. This model saw the addition of the powerful GSR variant which had a twin-carb 1600 cc 110 bhp engine and rear disc brakes. It cost around RM16,000 at that time and for those who couldn’t afford it, there was also the 1400 cc version. The variant which many of us lusted for was the Lancer 2000GSR which was the basis of the Ralliart competition cars. This was the 'real thing’ but only a few units were ever brought in by private importers.
In 1984, it was announced that Mitsubishi Motors was selected as the partner of the National Car Project and there was a lot of speculation as to which model would be used for the first Proton model. At that time, there was the Lancer as well as the Tredia and it was the Lancer F which was the basis for the Saga that was Malaysia’s first national car. After the Proton Saga arrived, Mitsubishi Motors pulled out of the Malaysian market, at least in as far as passenger cars were concerned. It wanted to show its commitment to the project by not selling competing models. The only models sold were the Galant and light commercial vehicles as well as 4WDs, of which the Pajero was extremely successful.
An advertisement from the 1970s which made use of the Lancer's rally and economy run wins as selling points. The first generation used the 'Colt' name which was dropped when the second generation was introduced in 1979.