Eagle Talon
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The Eagle Talon was a sports car sold by the Eagle division of Chrysler. The Eagle Talon often outsold its cousins, until Eagle's demise in 1998. The Talon is popular in the aftermarket because of its very potent turbocharged inline 4 cylinder engine, codenamed 4G63, which is usually combined with an all-wheel drive (AWD) powertrain. The 4G63 engine is also used in the Mitsubishi Evolution. The first generation models are the most popular among aftermarket tuners, due to the extensive abuse and high horsepower their engines are capable of withstanding. The second generation models are also popular with aftermarket tuners, despite the reputation that some of the engines in these cars suffer from a problem called "crankwalk".
Overview
The Eagle Talon was one of three model names given to a passenger car that was manufactured and sold by the then Chrysler Corporation (symbol: penta-star) and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan (symbol: triple diamond) in a collaborative project known as Diamond Star Motors (DSM), between 1990 and 1998. The Talon was sold under the Eagle marque, a brand developed by Chrysler to compete with Japanese imports in the late 1980s from the remnants of American Motors which was purchased by Chrysler in 1987. The other two sister models were the Eclipse (sold by Mitsubishi) and the Laser (sold by Plymouth, another Chrysler brand). Note that both the "Eagle" and "Plymouth" brand names have since been discontinued.All three vehicles were built on the same platform at the DSM manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois. All three vehicles were mechanically identical (when comparing the same option level) including engine, transmission, and drivetrain. Cosmetically, differences between the three were found in wheels, availability of colors, tail lights, front and rear bumpers, and spoilers. The primary way to establish the identity of an Eagle Talon is its two-tone body color - the 'greenhouse' (roof, pillars, door-mounted mirrors) was always black regardless of the body color (Note: 1G Eclipses with a 2.0L motor also have black 'greenhouse' roofs).
The basic characteristics of the Eagle Talon are:
- Two doors
- Hatchback
- 2+2 seating (2 front seats and 2 marginal, fold down rear seats)
- Four option levels (from lowest to highest): DL, ESi, TSi, and TSi AWD
- front-wheel drive (FWD) for all option levels except for the top option level, which had all-wheel drive (AWD)
- 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmissions
- Two-tone color combination as described above
- Hood bulge on the left-hand side of the car in order to provide adequate clearance for the camshaft sprockets/timing belt cover on the 4G63 engine (Note: the base model DL did not use this engine so although it had the bulge, it did not need it).
First generation (1G)
The first generation Talon was manufactured in mid-1989 as a 1990 model year car through to 1994. This era of DSM vehicles is commonly referred to as the first generation, or "1G" for short.
There were four models of the Talon:
- DL
- ES (Simply Talon Pre-93)
- TSi
- TSi AWD
The 1G engine features a "6 bolt" motor, referring to the amount of bolts connecting the flywheel to the crankshaft. The later 2G design changed to a "7 bolt" version.
The Eagle Talon was consistently featured on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1990-1992.
Production numbers
- 1991: 29,853
- 1992: 29,911
- 1993: 27,360
- 1994: 27,680
Second generation (2G)
The second generation Eagle Talon was introduced in 1995 simultaneously with its Mitsubishi Eclipse counterpart, while the Plymouth Laser model was eliminated. Mechanically, the new Talon and Eclipse models were identical with the engines receiving a modest increase in output thanks to a redesigned intake and exhaust, and new turbocharger (in some models).
From a design standpoint, the differences between this car and its Mitsubishi equivalent were somewhat more substantial than exhibited in the first generation models. These differences were most obvious at the rear of the car. For example, the rear fascia of the Talon featured a bumper cap with a dip in the middle to allow for a high-mounted rear license plate; rear light clusters incorporating amber turn signals (the Eclipse used red turn signals); reverse lights as part of the main rear tail light clusters (the Eclipse's reverse lights were mounted separately and lower around the mid-mounted license plate); and a sickle-shaped rear spoiler for the TSi and TSi AWD version mounted at the base of the rear window that was painted black regardless of body color (the Eclipse used a body colored, conventional spoiler mounted on the rear deck). Other diffences included the air intake beneath the front bumper which did not have a body-colored splitter (minor difference) and side skirts that were more bulbous on the Talon.
For model year 1997, a design update occurred for both the Talon and the Eclipse that is sometimes referred to as "2Gb". The update was primarily limited to the non-metal portions of the car. The front and rear fascias were heavily revised to incorporate more aggressive looking features. At the front, a larger air intake was created and the "Eagle" emblem was enlarged and embossed into the center of the bumper cap (as opposed to a badge that inset into a similarly shaped hole). At the rear, a new high-mount spoiler was introduced that projected further into the airstream, replacing the flush-mounted sickle spoiler. Added plastic moldings on the bumper caps and doors completed the revisions to the body. Lastly, an aluminum wheel incorporating more angles replaced the curved 5-spoke wheel.
Models:
- ESi - 2.0 L 420A/ECH I4, 140 hp (104 kW) at 6000 rpm and 130 ft·lbf (176 N·m) at 4800 rpm
- TSi / TSi AWD manual transmission - 2.0 L 4G63 turbo I4, 210 hp (156 kW) at 6000 rpm and 214 ft·lbf (290 N·m) at 3000 rpm
- TSi / TSi AWD automatic transmission - 2.0 L 4G63 turbo I4, 205 hp (152 kW) at 6000 rpm and 220 ft·lbf (298 N·m) at 3000 rpm
Production numbers
- 1995: 20,824
- 1996: 13,842
- 1997: 1,987
- 1998: 2,957
Dimensions
- Wheelbase: 98.8 in (2510 mm)
- Track (front/rear): 59.7 in (1516 mm)/59.4 in (1509 mm)
- Overall length: 172.2 in (4374 mm)
- Overall width:
- * ESi: 68.3 in (1735 mm)
- * TSi/TSi AWD: 68.7 in (1745 mm)
- Overall height:
- * ESi: 51.4 in (1305.6 mm)
- * TSi/TSi AWD: 51.5 in (1308 mm)
Colors
- Bright White
- Black
- Indy Red
- Wildberry Metallic (maroon)
- Medium Gray Metallic
- Blue Metallic
- Polo Green Metallic
- Prism Blue
End of the Talon
By 1998, the Talon was the last model in the declining Eagle lineup. Although a concept car called the Eagle Jazz was produced, which bore a strange resemblance to a 4-door Eagle Talon, Chrysler stopped promoting the Eagle brand and in 1998 the Talon was retired with it.Video Game Appearances
- 1995 Eagle Talon TSi - Need For Speed III
- 1998 Eagle Talon TSi - Forza Motorsport
- 1997 Eagle Talon ESi - Gran Turismo 4
External links
- [DSM.org] - home of the Talon Digest, the original source of all DSM knowledge.
- [420a.com] a website with information about the 420a, an engine available in the non-turbocharged 2G DSM's.
- [Eaglecars.com] - historical website dedicated to the Eagle brand.
| Eagle | Historic: | |
| Cars: | 2000GTX | Medallion | Premier | Summit | Talon | Vision | Vista | |
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