When you imagine a classic car perhaps you imagine a Porsche 911 or possibly a gleaming well-cherished VW Beetle, but it’s unlikely that the Mitsubishi Colt will be number one on your mental list. However, at almost fifty years old the Colts you can get completely new today are the result of half a century of sophisticated, smart style and design, which makes them an unseen modern day classic.

The very first Colt models were debuted in the 9th Tokyo Motorshow in 1962.The five-seat, two door Mitsubishi Colt 600 was driven by an air-cooled 594 cc twin cylinder OHV engine together with a top speed of 62mph. Made in Mitsubishi’s Okazaki factory the passenger car, a successor for the well-known Mitsubishi 500 Super Deluxe, placed second and third in the under 600 cc category of the 1963 Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Colt 600′s intelligent sleek and stylish look was born out of the necessity to exploit local Japanese tax and insurance rules, and in most rural areas it was exempted from the obligation to certify that sufficient parking was available for the vehicle.

Following the popularity of the 600 model the larger compact Colt 1000 was released in 1963, then the Colt 800 and Colt 1500 in 1965, and the Colt 1100 in 1966. As Mitsubishi Motors started to grow internationally the British were initially treated to an altogether different meaning of the Colt brand, as all Mitsubishis were sold under that label in the UK by the freshly established Colt Car Company.It wasn’t until 1984 this naming protocol was eliminated, bringing Mitsubishi firmly as a brand name into Britain.

In the Seventies Japan was hit by a fuel crisis and several car companies responded with economical improvements to their lines. Mitsubishi’s answer was the 3-door front wheel drive Mirage with innovative ‘Supershift’ transmission and a distinctive large-windowed design. Although not known as a Colt in Japan the range was released in the United States as the Dodge Colt and Plymouth Champ and the innovative Colt specifications scooped the highest United States Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy rating that year. In Britain the Mirage again fell within the marque of the Colt and was distinguished from other models by engine size, with the names Colt 1200 and Colt 1400.

This was only the beginning of the story, a tale which continues today with the contemporary Colt models, such as the revolutionary MiEV and also the intelligently developed Colt Cleartec, giving everybody the chance to drive a classic bit of history that is leading the way in to the future.