2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse Preview

Remaking a Sports Coupe Icon

Japan's oldest automaker, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and its U.S. and Canadian division, Mitsubishi Motors North America, has a

Japan's oldest automaker, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has a lot riding on the success of its new Eclipse. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

lot riding on the success of its new Eclipse, first introduced in production trim at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, earlier this year. The sporty coupe is currently the U.S. import segment leader when it comes to sales figures, but the personal two-door category has been in a slump in recent years, at least until Ford reinvigorated it with the new Mustang.

On the positive, those wanting sporty styling and performance backed by a Japanese nameplate don't have many options anymore. What, with Toyota having effectively pulled the plug on its long-running Celica, Honda's Prelude long gone, Mazda's MX-6 a distant memory, and other Japanese offerings no longer

The Eclipse is a bit bigger, a lot bolder and much more powerful than its compact rivals. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

available, only Acura's RSX and Scion's new tC remain, the latter only available in the U.S. Hyundai still offers its Tiburon, a worthy contender to the Japanese.

Also good for Mitsubishi, its new Eclipse is an entirely different animal than its two Japanese and single Korean competitors. While it targets each with regards to sporty styling and expected pricing, that's about it. The Eclipse is a bit bigger, a lot bolder and much more powerful than its compact rivals. It's based on D-segment architecture compared to the Acura, Hyundai and Scion's C-segment platforms, but that said it's not a large car by any stretch of the imagination.