Mitsubishi Model A
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The Mitsubishi Model A was the first car built by the Mitsubishi keiretsu which would eventually evolve into Mitsubishi Motors, and also the first series production automobile manufactured in Japan. Based on the Fiat Tipo 3, it was a four-door seven-seater powered by a 2.8 L straight-4 engine, and was capable of speeds up to 20 mph. 22 were built at the Kobe shipyard of Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., including prototypes, between 1917 and 1921.
Because it was expensive to produce (it was built entirely by hand, with a cab made of lacquered white cypress) it could not compete with cheaper American and European competition, and Mitsubishi halted production after four years. Concentrating instead on its successful commercial vehicles, the Model A would be the company's last passenger car until the Mitsubishi 500 of 1960.
At Mitsubishi's Auto Gallery (a museum of the company's most historically significant vehicles, established at their R&D Center in Okazaki in 1989) there is a replica on display, assembled in 1972 using materials of the time. It has a slightly shorter wheelbase, and uses a water-cooled 977 cc four-cylinder OHV engine instead of the larger 2.8 L original.
Technical specifications
- Layout - Front engine, rear-wheel drive
- Bodywork - Four door, seven-seat sedan
- Dimensions (L/W/H/WB) - 3830 mm/1620 mm/2070 mm/2640 mm
- Curb weight - 1315 kg
- Engine type - four-cylinder
- Bore x stroke - 79.4 × 139.7 mm
- Engine displacement - 2765 cc
- Peak power - 26 kW (35 hp)
External links
- [Mitsubishi Motors Web Museum]
- [Model A replica at Mitsubishi Auto Gallery]
- [Mitsubishi Model A specifications at Carfolio.com] (these differ slightly from Mitsubishi's own figures)
- ["The Greatest Japanese Cars Of All Time"], Michael Frank, Forbes.com, 23 April 2001
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