- Rare AMG-tuned Mitsubishi Galant packs a 4G63 and serious late-1980s weirdness.
- This factory-backed oddball costs less than many new economy cars in Japan.
- Before Mercedes and Mitsubishi split paths, they built one seriously strange sedan.
Some collaborations age into legend, others into trivia. If AMG and Mitsubishi in the same sentence sounds wrong, that’s because today it absolutely does. But back in the late 1980s, before AMG became fully absorbed into Mercedes and before every performance car needed a Nürburgring lap time, there was a brief period where the tuning house sprinkled some of its magic on Mitsubishi products.
The result is one of the strangest and coolest forgotten sports sedans Japan ever produced. Now one of those cars has surfaced for sale in Osaka, and it feels like an automotive alternate timeline accidentally leaked into ours. This 1989 Mitsubishi Galant AMG is listed at 1,730,000 yen ($11,900 at current exchange rates), including fees. That’s less than many used Civics, yet it buys you a genuinely unusual slice of performance history.
Read: AMG Cheated On Mercedes To Tune This FWD Mitsubishi Galant
The listing describes an AMG-tuned Galant with the naturally aspirated 4G63 engine, a full AMG aero package, AMG wheels, leather seats, an AMG steering wheel, a unique exhaust, and a large rear spoiler. Mileage sits at 92,600 km (57,500 miles), and the timing belt has reportedly already been replaced. That’s a key detail for anyone considering importing a nearly four-decade-old Japanese sedan.
Again, this isn’t some aftermarket body-kit up-badged special. The Galant AMG was a real collaboration. Mitsubishi sent engines to AMG for tuning, where modifications included revised camshafts, higher compression, upgraded intake components, and other tweaks. Output climbed to roughly 170 hp (127 kW), a meaningful number for a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter sedan in 1989.
That power is sent to all four wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission. The gearbox might be the least enjoyable part of this rare beast, but frankly, plenty of other AMGs leverage slushboxes. The bigger story here is how bizarre the whole thing feels in hindsight.
Imagine telling someone today that AMG would collaborate with Mitsubishi on a midsize sedan. It sounds about as believable as a factory-built Hellcat-powered Prius. At least this one is real, and you can buy it for a lot less than one might expect.
A few grand short of a clean Civic, plus whatever shipping it Stateside runs you, and this four-wheel-drive footnote is yours. Being a 1989 car, it clears the 25-year import rule cleanly, so nothing’s stopping you but good sense. Go gawk at the listing before someone saner buys it.
