When it comes to iconic Mitsubishis, there's no doubt your mind will instantly wander to the Lancer Evolution or even the Pajero Evolution, but the Japanese brand once had a flourishing Australian wing.
Towards the end of its Australian production line, Mitsubishi decided to go hard in on one special, Australian market-only sedan, and boy was it a monster, producing 230kW and 420Nm at the wheels.
But unlike other special-edition cars, the TMR 380 wasn’t a celebration of a successful model to show what it could do, nor was it a homologation car to compete in a race series; it was simply a send-off for the final nail in the coffin for Mitsubishi’s Australian manufacturing wing.
This is how Mitsubishi Australia developed one of the rarest diamond-badged cars ever, and how you can buy one now.
Mitsubishi develops an Australian-only model
Based in Adelaide, New South Wales, in 1980 Mitsubishi established itself in Australia, following in the footsteps of its competitor, Toyota.
The Tonsley Park factory produced a few international nameplates, including the Colt, Sigma, and Galant, but also featured a few special Australian models.
The Mitsubishi Magna, also known as the “Tonsley Tickford,” featured several special editions exclusive to the Australian market.
Yet the model was drowning in low-sales towards the late-90s and early-00s, dipping well below the 30,000 mark for both the Magna and Verada sales combined.
Sales started to decline, so much so that in 2004 company research revealed that 84 per cent of the surveyed public believed Mitsubishi would close its operations in Australia. Looking to generate more sales, Japanese executives gave approval for the Australian branch to develop two new cars.
One being a facelift of the Magna/Verada, which missed the mark on sales yet again, and the next was supposed to be a long-wheelbase version of the Magna, which never got released.
However, Mitsubishi had a $600 million plan up its sleeve: an all-new sedan built by Australians, for Australians. Although it was built on the North American Galant platform, the new Mitsubishi 380 was designed and engineered by Australians.
The all-new model, along with advertising campaigns headed by CEO Tom Phillips, was supposed to generate Australian confidence that the brand was here to stay and wasn’t in financial strife, unlike its North American counterpart following Daimler-Chrysler's withdrawal from the alliance.
The 380 hit the Australian market at the end of 2005, with Mitsubishi Australia producing 11,077 units in the first year, but selling just 3,548. The next year wasn’t much better, with production numbers at 10,560 and sales figures at just 12,423.
Mitsubishi attempted to counteract these sales by offering mildly updated versions, such as the Series II and Series III, which came with a nearly 20 per cent price decrease. However, this effort was unsuccessful. In March 2008, after just two and a half years, production ceased, and the model ended its run as unprofitable.
Mitsubishi ultimately produced 32,044 380s, with 30,196 being sold in Australia and the remainder exported in small numbers to other countries, following a failed deal to sell the car in Malaysia. But, there was one big bang on the horizon to send the car off.
The ultra-special Mitsubishi TMR 380
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart (TMR) (Mitsubishi's HSV/FPV equivalent) got its hands on the 380 and turned it into a monster as a final send-off for the brand in Australia.
TMR touched up the 380 by painting it in a special colour, putting a body kit on it, 19-inch wheels, a limited-slip differential, bigger brakes, sport exhaust, better suspension, and, oh yeah, they strapped a supercharger to the 3.8-litre V6, boosting the power to a whopping 230kW and 420Nm.
These power outputs put it on par with the big boys, but being automatic and front-wheel drive ultimately placed it in the same class as the TRD Aurion – cars that people wish were at least all-wheel drive, or rear-wheel drive.
The car was first shown to the public in October 2006 with plans for Mitsubishi to sell the car in numbers, but later rescinding on the plan citing economic issues and difficulty in gaining ADR compliance while staying true to the original TMR 380 concept.
“The TMR 380 will not happen – at least officially – as a volume model in the 380 range,” Rob McEniry, CEO of Mitsubishi Australia at the time, told Drive in 2007, adding that Alan Heaphy’s Team Mitsubishi Ralliart (TMR) operation in Melbourne could still build cars to order.
And produce the cars themselves they did. TMR built just 20 of these, and they rarely come up for sale. One has been on the market at $50,000 for a few months with 120,000km, but an even more special one with just 900km is up for auction on Burns and Co., with pre-bidding ending on 7 October 2025.
Although reports suggest these cars were never offered to the open market, 18 of them were actually sent to dealerships with a $56,990 price tag, one stayed at TMR, and one went to Rob McEniry.
As for the one that’s up for auction? Well, it’s hard to hypothesise about what it will end up for, considering the only other one for sale has been up for a while at $50k, and it’s certainly a strange car. Still, it might be worth something to a Mitsubishi collector who wants to own one of the rarest diamond-badged cars ever produced.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
