Mitsubishi Emeraude – A Rare JDM Jewel

To be honest, I was in two minds about writing this instalment of ‘Forgotten Heroes’ on the topic of the truly rare and probably-impossible-to-find-now Mitsubishi Emeraude.

Firstly, the Emeraude never sold particularly well, and can hardly be called a hero in terms of its longevity, popularity, or modern desirability.

Secondly, the Emeraude was nothing to truly write home about in the performance or luxury department (apart from perhaps the top spec sports model).

However – and as I’ll explain later – this uber-rare, obscure JDM car represents a manifestation of one of the most interesting eras in Japanese motoring, and the end of the JDM ‘golden age’ … and for that reason alone it deserves a spot on this website.

What Is The Mitsubishi Emeraude?

Long story short, the Emeraude was a dressed-up Mitsubishi Galant released exclusively for the Japanese domestic market.

Hitting the showrooms in 1992 at the same time as the fifth generation Galant (including the new-and-improved Galant VR-4) Japanese car buyers could have opted for the Emeraude over the Galant.

Here’s an excessively long promotional video for the Emeraude, which manages to say very little, but which does do a decent job at conveying the fact that the Emeraude was positioned as a more premium, upmarket choice:

Fundamentally, the mechanical underpinnings are the same as the regular fifth generation Galant … more on that later. 

However, unlike the Galant which was a normal sedan body shape, the Emeraude sported a “pillared” hardtop body style (some refer to this as a four door coupe).

I’m going to write a more detailed history and analysis on the phenomenon of the Japanese hardtop vehicle, but for now suffice it to say that JDM buyers perceived the swooping lines and lower roofline of this body style as being more luxurious and premium.

For what it’s worth, I think the Emeraude looks fantastic – you can clearly see the relationship with the Galant of the same vintage, but it looks a whole lot “swankier”, for lack of a better term. I suspect that any Emeraude owner would have been proud to be seen on the streets of Tokyo or Osaka in such a car.

A potential buyer in the 1990s could have walked into his or her local dealership and elected for either the regular Galant, or paid a bit more for a supposedly upmarket Emeraude. 

Emeraude is the French for Emerald, which is fitting considering the strong association between Mitsubishi and another precious stone – the diamond, which constitutes its logo.

Why Did Mitsubishi Make The Emeraude? 

At this juncture, you’re probably thinking ‘why?’

The Emeraude was not intended to be a high-performance variant of the Galant (unlike the epic Galant VR-4) nor was it a true luxury car in the vein of something else obscure like the Mitsubishi Proudia or Debonair.

So what was the point?

The point of the Emeraude relates to the body style (hardtop sedan/four door coupe, as opposed to a regular sedan). Apparently, owning a car with this sort of body shape as opposed to a more conventional sedan – like the Galant upon which it is based – was desirable for many Japanese buyers at the time.

One theory, which I’ve written about in my article on the Toyota Sprinter Marino/Corolla Ceres (which also have the same body style as the Emeraude) is that because hardtops cost slightly more they were unlikely to be purchased by fleet buyers who are typically cost-conscious.

Therefore, by purchasing a hardtop e.g. an Emeraude as opposed to a Galant, you could effectively stand out as being sufficiently well-heeled to not have a fleet-spec, company car as your own vehicle, because no fleet buyer would be purchasing a series of Emeraudes for hard working salarymen to use. 

For a more modern example, I’d consider a vehicle like the current Toyota Camry. Here in New Zealand there are fleet spec ‘base’ model hybrid Camrys everywhere (they are popular with rental car companies, public agencies buying for staff pool cars, and businesses providing company vehicles to travelling staff). If you are a private buyer purchasing a Camry, you might be tempted to pay a little bit more for a ‘ZR’ trim that has some additional aesthetic flair – and better equipment – as you can then stand out from the crowd. Of course the Emeraude, versus the Galant, is different in that the body style is actually changed but the concept remains the same.

Japanese car manufacturers in the 1980s and early 1990s were often big on producing “internal” badge engineered and/or modified body versions of cars that could be sold through different dealership chains that had different target customers and buyer preferences. For example, Mazda at one point sold cars in Japan under the Mazda, Eunos, ɛ̃fini and Autozam brands. I used to own an ex-JDM Mazda Sentia, which was also sold as the ɛ̃fini MS-9. Toyota had long been manufacturing the Sprinter, which was a visually different Corolla with more of a reputation for sportiness, designed to appeal to younger buyers.

Mitsubishi’s aim, therefore, with the Emeraude was to cash in on this phenomenon of taking one platform and producing multiple variants aimed at different buyers (with the Emeraude being for the aspirant luxury-yet-sensible buyer). 

Unluckily for Mitsubishi, the Japanese Asset Bubble burst in the early 1990s, and by the mid/late 90s the flow-on effects through the Japanese economy meant that car sales slowed and manufacturers generally streamlined model ranges to reduce costs. This meant the final nail in the coffin for cars like the Emeraude, particularly as Mitsubishi was in terrible financial shape even compared to other Japanese auto makers. 

Mitsubishi Emeraude Specifications

Engine & Transmission

As you’d expect, the Emeraude was available with several different engine choices. 

• Base spec cars were equipped with a 1.8L 4 cylinder, the 4G93, producing a whopping 110hp
• From there, you could step up to a range of V6 engines (shared with other Mitsubishi cars such as the FTO)
  • 1.8L V6 6A11 producing 135hp
  • 2.0L V6 6A12 in a variety of tunes depending on whether you opted for a SOHC, DOHC, or DOHC Mivec unit. The DOHC Mivec engine produces around 200hp and is shared with the top-spec Mitsubishi FTO GPX and is a great little engine, and a real throwback as you don’t see small displacement V6 engines any more. 

In terms of transmission, all cars could be specified with either a four speed automatic or five speed manual gearbox.

All cars were front wheel drive, but some could be specified with four wheel steering.  

Interior

The interior of the Emeraude was largely unchanged from the equivalent trim/specification Galant. All interiors were cloth (in the best traditions of cloth/fabric seats being considered superior to leather in the Japanese market)

Purchasers could choose from a number of options, including:

• Heated wing mirrors
• Driver and passenger airbags
• In-dash TV (including a rear TV option)
• Sunroof
• Cruise control
• Luxury trim fabric interior that is a thicker, heavier material

Should You Buy A Mitsubishi Emeraude?

Possibly.

In the base/lower level specifications, ultimately it isn’t that interesting of a car (unless you’re such a JDM enthusiast that simply owning a vehicle that wasn’t available from factory outside of Japan is reason enough to purchase).

However, the higher spec versions – particularly those powered by the excellent DOHC MIVEC V6 from the Mitsubishi FTO – are an interesting proposition.

I think the Emeraude is a very stylish car, better looking than the Galant upon which it is based. With any model you are going to miss a number of modern car creature comforts (most notably in the safety department) but that is the trade off you make with any classic car.

If you take the stylish, attractive looks, rarity of the model and potential driving experience of the proper, full-fat V6 models, there is a compelling package on offer.

The biggest challenge is going to be finding one. I’ve never personally seen an Emeraude for sale, although I’m sure a JDM import service might be able to source one for you. 

If you see one for sale, it would be well worthy of consideration.