In what countries has this car been on sale ?
Is the "limited edition" only VR4 galants in the US ?
How many cars have been made (89-93 models) ?
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In what countries has this car been on sale ?
Is the "limited edition" only VR4 galants in the US ?
How many cars have been made (89-93 models) ?
i can only answer the america questions.
it was sold only in 91-92. it was available only with a 195 HP 2.0 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, 5 speed, AWD, and 4 wheel steering. and there were only 1500 available per year (or maybe 2000. i dont remember exactly, although im pretty sure it was only 1500)
in the usa, the vr4 sold 2000 units in 91, and 1000 units in 92. you can get a lot of info from www.jgronline.com, one of the galant vr4 groups. there are also 2 yahoo groups for this car. in japan, there were at least 3 models, 205hp, 215hp, and 240hp. included in this were some very special very limited editions, one was the galant vr4 monte carlo. i believe also the evo I and II were galant chassis based, but later on mitsu went to the lancer platform, it was much smaller. that platform is now here(it was formally presented on jan 3) and will sell in the us for about 30k.
the vr4 shares MOST of the engine and drivetrain with the eclipse/laser/talons, except the fuel maps in the ecu are slightly different, for example, the vr4 idles at 850 rpm vs t/e/l 750, and the t/e/l cars have slightly more aggressive timing maps for wot. also, the galant has a slightly "taller" first gear. the vr4 also has rear wheel steering, the t/e/l does not, although i am not quite convinced that is desireable. many have disconnected the rear wheel steering, and say the car handles much better.
suspension is also slightly different, front and rear struts and springs are longer, and have different compression/rebound rates. wheels are 4 bolt 15", t/e/l are 5 bolt, 16". the vr4 also has the much desired bigger front brakes, which came stock on the 92.5 and later t/e/l cars. abs was stock, but only a primitive 2 channel. the us cars did not have lsd diffs. the jdm ones do, and some also had the later 4 bolt axles which are much stronger.
the vr4 has a much smaller intercooler, and the piping is routed a lot different than t/e/l. alt is a 90a, vs tel 75a.
trim levels in the vr4 were very limited, all came with black leather and grey carpeting, most came with glass moonroof, some had cd players. none of the interior will interchange with tel. wheels were colored same as the car. all had aerodynamic body trim, and rear spoiler, unique to the vr4.
the build quality of the vr4 is clearly superior to the t/e/l cars. vr4's(i think ALL galants at that time were made in japan, the t/e/l is made here in the states) have a very rigid frame, and fit and finish is on par with mercedes and bmw. i also owned a 93 eclipse gsx, and it was a pile of crap. leaked like a sieve, after a good rain, i would have an inch of water on the floor. fit and finsh sucked, panels came off, doors did not close tightly, rattles and squeaks all over the place. in contrast, the vr4, at 175k, is in much better shape than the gsx was at 90k.
there are several galants now in the 11 sec range. the car is a bit heavier than the tel, and also the limited number of these cars means less of them are raced.
i drove a 2001 galant es v6 for a month while i was in training in california, and recently had a street race against a gtz. now, granted, my vr4 has a LOT of mods, but even stock, the es i drove would not even come close.