Nine-Thousand Original Miles: 1986 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R






























I've never fully understood the appeal of the decade of the 1980s. In my view, 95% of the 1980s was garbage, and the remaining five-percent was nothing really spectacular either. A major exception was and still is Japanese sport coupes, especially rear-wheel drive performance ones. This 1986 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R was not only built as a performance car, it is also a 9,224 original-mile survivor! Find it here on eBay in Ventura, California, with 28 bids and a little over 16 and a half hours left to bid.


























Featuring a name that was an amalgam of "Star of Orion" (Starion, get it?), the Starion was marketed in the United States from 1983 to 1989 as the Mitsubishi Starion and rebadged as a Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth Conquest. Produced to compete against the Nissan Z cars, Mazda RX7, and Toyota Supra, the Starion featured boxy styling similar to Audi's Quattro. This Starion is a wide-body ESI-R model, and is one of 19,438 Starions built for 1986. Resplendent in Silver with black accents, the outside of this Starion is mint, with nary a flaw or imperfection. The boxy wide-body flares, deep-reaching front air dam, and pop-up headlights make for an aggressive look, and the silver paint reminds me of the Delorean Michael J. Fox rocked in Back to the Future. The vintage California is an awesome and rare sight, and I dig those five-spoke aluminum wheels. 

























Talk about a busy engine compartment, even in 1986! The engine under the hood of this Starion is a turbocharged, intercooled, 2.6-liter, 12-valve Astron G54B SOHC inline-four Hemi. Rated at 180 horsepower and 223 lb-ft of torque, the G54B has tons of performance potential, though was hampered by mechanical problems. Backed by a five-speed manual transmission, the derivetrain in this Starion is mint, thanks to its low, 9,224 mileage. I would drive this car sparingly to local shows and Cars and Coffee events.
























My Uncle David is a huge Star Wars fan, so he would most definitely appreciate this interior! Resplendent in a black leather interior, the interior of this car is you-guessed it: mint, and is loaded with a bunch of bells and whistles. I definitely love the analog gauges, and the manual console-mounted shifter screams performance. I would take all of the necessary steps to preserve this interior, as most interiors from this era usually crap out after a while. Overall, this Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R is one of the nicest I've ever seen, and though the bidding price may seem high, keep in mind the low mileage and overall survivor condition. What are your thoughts on this clean, unmolested Starion ESI-R survivor?
Location: Ventura, CA, USA

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