The quest for the Chrysler Conquest and Mitsubishi Starion

About a month ago, I attended my cousin’s wedding.  During the reception, I sat at a table next to the groom’s friend and wedding photographer who asked me if I was the relative of the bride’s who was into cars.  I answered in the affirmative, and he mentioned that he and the groom had been traveling just recently and saw a Chrysler Conquest.  I forget which of the two of them, the groom or his friend, had not immediately been able to name the make and model.  Anyway, he thought it was remarkable because he couldn't recall the last time he had seen one.  I replied that the Chrysler Conquest (nee Plymouth Conquest -since this was a wedding setting, it seems an appropriate way to mention that the Conquest was originally a Plymouth) was the captive import version of the Mitsubishi Starion.  You may recall previous posts about the Mitsubishi 3000GT and the Dodge Stealth, which is another captive import made by Mitsubishi, but badged and sold as a Mopar… there are others, like the Plymouth Laser/Eagle Talon/Mitsubishi Eclipse, and at one point or another, and even still today, major car manufacturers continue to sell rebadged versions of cars that are built by other companies or built for other markets under other names.  Anyway, at the time, I told the groom’s friend that I hadn't seen a Conquest or a Starion in the flesh for at least a decade -at least not one that I could recall seeing.  Well, that changed just last week.

Here’s the June 1983 issue of Motor Trend I pulled from my automotive literature library.  You’ll note that its cover features four vehicles: a Datsun (later to be known as Nissan ) 280ZX, A Mazda RX-7, a Toyota Supra, and a Mitsubishi Starion.  None of these specific model designations survive to this day, but up until 2011, you could buy a Mazda RX-8.  You can still by a Z car -now a Nissan (nee Datsun) 370Z.  A new Toyota Supra could be had up until 2002, and even now, there was talk of a possible comeback for the nameplate, though the same can be said of the MR2, but that hasn't actually come to fruition, either.  With the Scion FR-S (twin to the Subaru BRZ -see how nice brand names are about sharing their cars!), perhaps Toyota figures it’s got that buying demographic somewhat covered.  Mitsubishi really doesn't have anything comparable to the Starion these days, though the 3000GT (known elsewhere as the Mitsubishi GTO) was the Starion’s successor -but as we know, those are gone from the market, too.  So really, the only one of the Motor Trend cover’s vehicles left standing in any type of recognizable form is the Nissan, and even the Z-car disappeared for a while after 1996 when it was known as the 300ZX -though it made a comeback in 2002 as the 350Z, now known as the 370Z.

As I stated previously, the Conquest started out its captive import life in 1983 as a Plymouth, but was married off to Chrysler in 1986 and continued its run up until 1989.  The one I spotted for today’s post doesn't have any badging specifying whether it’s a Plymouth or a Chrysler, though the odds favor Chrysler.  Here’s why.  Both Plymouth and Chrysler sold the Conquest as their own for 3 years, so that’s a 50/50 chance.  In mid 1985, the Conquest’s body work changed.  It went from narrow and sleek to having swelled fenders for more of a wide-body look.  I don’t know enough about these cars to be able to say definitively that these wide body Conquests (of which today’s car is one) -known among Conquest and Starion owners and collectors as “fatties” were all sold as Chryslers rather than Plymouths, but the timing seems as though it was perfect to align with the Chrysler designation.  The Starion featured on our magazine cover and in the article is, of course, from 1983, so it is not a fatty, and thus, it is not as sought after as its big-boned younger sister.

The early Starion/Conquest featured a 2.6L turbocharged inline 4 cylinder engine that could produce 145 HP and 185 lb-ft of torque.  These could be had with a 5 speed manual or an optional 4 speed automatic transmission.  The MSRP listed in the ’83 Motor Trend magazine for the one tested is just shy of $14,000.  These cars came with vented disc brakes all around, and MacPherson strut front and rear independent suspension.  Steering involved a power-assisted recirculating ball set up -a design which was discussed at some length in one of my previous posts that featured the Chrysler Crossfire.  You can probably find some way of dredging up that post if you’re interested in learning more about recirculating balls.  The MT article’s comparo vehicles have the tested Starion as the 2nd least expensive vehicle tested.  The Datsun/Nissan 280ZX was the most expensive, with a tag of over $18,500.  The second most expensive was the Toyota Supra, ringing up at just a hair under $16,000.  Then, there’s the Starion at just shy of $14,000, followed by the Mazda RX-7 at barely over $13,000.  The article about these 4 cars gives the overall win to the Supra, though gave a nod to the Starion for its handling, the 280ZX for its power, and the RX-7 for its price point and nimble feel.

Today’s Conquest not only has the fact that it is a wide body variant going for it.  This car is also a TSI, which means it has an intercooler to go with its turbo and can produce right around 180 HP (the specs vary depending on where you look, but span the ranges between 176 and 188 HP from 1986-1989) and 223 lb-ft of torque.  Today’s Conquest is likely at least a 1986 model year, which means that 2.6L I4 was also gifted with hemispherical combustion chambers to help with sourcing its power.

I don’t particularly care for the paint job on this Conquest, and it is in rough shape, though it could certainly be worse.  Its original steering wheel has been replaced with some aftermarket thing, and I get the feeling somebody tried to soup it up or modify its performance at some point in time due to all the boxes of engine parts that I saw sitting inside the car.

Say we’re in the market for a collectible Conquest or Starion to add to the population of our hypothetical airplane hangar full of interesting cars….  The ideal version of what we would be after would be akin to today’s Conquest insofar as it would be a wide body variant (a “fatty”), and a TSI -which, (quick side tangent, here)  depending on who you ask, stands for “Turbo Sport Injection“, or “Turbo fuel Stratified Injection“.   Though the “stratified” version of it would seem to suggest another layer of injection, and on some vehicles that use that acronym where the S is meant to signify “stratified” for sure, you’ll see a dual layer of forced induction that includes a turbo and a supercharger (see the VW Golf GT), so for the Conquest and Starion, I’d lean more toward the S signifying “Sport”.   Others have said that the “I” stands for intercooler or intercooled, but I really couldn't say with certainty which was the intended meaning. -back to our main stream of discussion, we would want the TSI because we’d want the intercooler.  As far as I’m concerned, that “I” can stand for intercooler, because that‘s why we care that the designation is on the car in the first place.  We would also be shopping for a Conquest or Starion that featured the performance handling package, which you’ll be able to recognize by the fact that it includes rear wheels that are an inch wider(9”) than the front wheels (8“).   We also want one that hasn't been messed with… no silly body kits, no clumsy attempts at increasing power, no messing with the interior -we want an unmolested vehicle.  When these things got really cheap, people who managed to get their hands on Conquests and Starions just couldn't seem to resist the urge to do something when it came to modifications and attempts to pull more power from their cars.  Not all of these guys knew what they were doing, and for many, this meant damage.  For those who did it right, there‘s still not much point.

The rarefied Conquest/Starion happens to be the most valuable while also managing to be the least invested-in.  That’s IF you can find them for sale.  I found one -a pristine Conquest with only 40,000 miles turned up in my online search, sitting in a lot in Pennsylvania with a price tag of right around $13,000 -not too far off from what it would have cost brand new.    The Conquest that’s worth buying is the one that was owned by somebody who didn't feel the need to throw hundreds or thousands of dollars into performance enhancements or giant wing spoilers and body kits.  The superlative Conquest or Starion is in tact -it’s one that was just left the hell alone  ....And really, if you think about it, there’s nothing that anybody can do to these cars that can make them outperform their more modern counterparts without spending an absolute fortune, so we might as well just respect them in their original form and try to appreciate the car as its actual designers intended.  At this point, these cars are 1980’s period pieces of design.  There’s no sense in trying to make them something they’re not, when what they are is still pretty cool.