The autoTRADER.ca Find of the Week this week is a big and mean wagon that boasts nearly 300 hp. It's a twin-turbo V6 and all-wheel drive. But it's not one you've probably ever thought of before. It's a 1997 Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4.
The VR-4 badge first came to Mitsubishi back in 1987. The company wanted to go rally-racing, so it needed a quicker version of the Galant sedan. The 2.0L turbo four in that car lead it to six victories in the World Rally Championship, between 1989 and 1992.
Then in 1992, Mitsubishi decided to go a different way in rallying. The smaller Lancer would be the rally car, not the big Galant; and those Lancers would launch the Evolution name that would help make those cars famous for offering big performance in a compact package.
But the brand wasn't done with the VR-4 Galant just yet. Since it didn't have to conform to FIA regulations, Mitsubishi was free to expand the performance envelope of the car. A 2.0L 24-valve V6 was fitted to the then-new seventh-generation car. Performance was up and the car was now smart enough to learn the driver's style and road conditions on the move.
In 1996, it was time for a new model. Based on the all-new eighth-generation Galant. The V6 was upped to 2.5L, and the twin-turbos weren't going anywhere. The car was now making 276 hp, the semi-official Japanese voluntary limit on horsepower. Which means that it probably packed a few more in the corral than just that.
It still had all-wheel drive and it could hit 100 km/h in under six seconds. Impressive for the time.
The VR-4 reach also expanded. Where the first two had been Galant-only, this one wasn't. This time, Mitsubishi added the VR-4 to the Legnum. The Legnum was the wagon version of the Galant. So there was a near-300 hp, twin-turbo V6 with all-wheel drive available in the more practical and ever cooler wagon body shape. So you could get up and go in a big hurry with five people and a whole load of stuff. There was a five-speed stick on offer, or, like this one, a five-speed auto. Which is one more gear than most automatics got in 1996.
There's more than just the extra power, too. Just look at that styling. The front bumper and grille that look like they're leaping out at you. Like a shark ready to snatch down on the poor, unsuspecting seal that is a corner apex. A rear hatch wing that is remarkably subtle for anything to have come out of the late 1990s.
It's yet another piece of 1990s automotivedom that was forbidden fruit here in Canada when it was new. If you wanted to drive one of these, you needed to do it in Gran Turismo. But now it's available here, ready to fulfill your AWD turbo drift fantasies. And instead of the inline-four you'd expect, there's that tiny V6. This 1997 Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4 is for sale in Stony Plain, AB, and it's our autoTRADER.ca Find of the Week.
