Any time you imagine a classic car probably you imagine an MG or a shiny well-treasured VW Beetle, but it’s not likely that the Mitsubishi Colt would be number one on your mental list. Nevertheless, at almost fifty years old the Colts you can get new today are the result of half a century of enhanced, intelligent style and design, making them an unnoticed modern classic.

The first Colt models were first shown in the 9th Tokyo Motorshow in 1962.The 5-seat, two door Mitsubishi Colt 600 was driven by an air-cooled 594 cc twin cylinder OHV engine coupled with a top speed of 62mph. Manufactured in Mitsubishi’s Okazaki production line the passenger car, a successor for the successful Mitsubishi 500 Super Deluxe, placed second and third in the under 600 cc category of the 1963 Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Colt 600′s intelligent stream-lined design was born out of the necessity to exploit local Japanese tax and insurance regulations, and in most non-urban regions it was exempted from the requirement to certify that satisfactory parking was available for the vehicle.

Following the popularity of the 600 design the larger compact Colt 1000 was created in 1963, then the Colt 800 and Colt 1500 in 1965, and the Colt 1100 in 1966. As Mitsubishi Motors began to expand globally the English were at first treated to an completely different interpretation of the Colt brand, as all Mitsubishis were marketed under that name in the UK by the freshly established Colt Car Company.It was not until 1984 this naming protocol was phased out, bringing Mitsubishi firmly as a brand into the United Kingdom.

In the 70s Japan was hit by a petrol crisis and several car manufacturers responded with economic changes to their lines. Mitsubishi’s answer was the 3-door front wheel drive Mirage with groundbreaking ‘Supershift’ transmission and a unique large-windowed design. While not known as a Colt in Japan the range was released in the US as the Dodge Colt and Plymouth Champ and the innovative Colt specifications scooped the highest United States Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy rating that year. In Britain the Mirage again fell within the marque of the Colt and was distinguished from other models by engine size, with the names Colt 1200 and Colt 1400.

This is just the beginning of the story, a tale which continues today with the current Colt models, such as the innovative MiEV and the intelligently designed Colt Cleartec, giving everybody the opportunity to drive a classic piece of history which is leading the way in to the future.