Not all Mitsubishis were created equal and not all of them are strictly-speaking Japanese. This second-generation (1994–1999) Eclipse, for instance, is more American than anything else. It was designed in the US, some models had Chrysler engines, it was built in Normal, Illinois and was chiefly sold – as a Mitsubishi or as an Eagle – Stateside. But look what crawled over from the Pacific to take up residence in a remote corner of Tokyo: a Spyder!
I can’t say I’ve seen many of these in my lifetime. They were apparently sold in Europe, but I don’t recall coming across one there, even in Japanese-friendly places like Switzerland or Benelux. And as far as Japanese sales were concerned, the cross-Pacific trip and LHD-only nature of the beast meant that these remained somewhat expensive and largely irrelevant – as did most any drop-top not called Eunos Roadster (a.k.a. Mazda Miata) in the ‘90s.
The 2nd generation Eclipse was launched in June 1994 as a 1995 model, but took about a year to reach Japanese dealerships. In the North American market, the Eclipse could get a 140hp 2-litre Chrysler engine from the Neon – somehow, those never made it across the ocean.
Initially only sold as a coupé, the soft-top Eclipse joined the fray in late 1996. The sole engine available was Mitsubishi’s own 1997cc DOHC straight-4 rated at 220PS (or 210hp), mated either to a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed auto. Other markets could get an AWD drivetrain, but this was not the case in Japan, where the Eclipse was strictly a front-driver.
The “Eclipse Spyder” callout on this little red number sent me tumbling down a rabbit hole across the (spider’s) web. I had questions, such as: When did this arachnid business cross paths with automotive body terminology? Why was it spelled with a “y” in this particular case?
It seems the word “spider” was in usage since the early 19th Century at least. The body style was that of a four-wheeled phaeton with an extremely light body, designed for an owner-driver, a passenger and at most a footman in the back seat. The carriage’s thin and spindly appearance made it look (doubtless with a touch of artistic license and strong liquor) a bit like a spider, hence the name. Both the body style and the term “spider phaeton” originated in the United States, but were in common usage in Europe by the middle of the century, as this excellent drawing above from English coachbuilder Hooper can attest.
The term was almost lost, but was apparently resurrected for sporty drop-tops in the late ‘20s, specifically with the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750. Spelling it as “spyder” is an Italian variant, but the meaning remains identical. Where things become complicated is when we add the French element: over there, the term “spider” came to mean a rumble seat, i.e. the additional (and hard to get to) extra seating some two-door cars had in lieu of a trunk. That little extra seat was a feature of the horse-drawn carriage version, so the French likely ended up using this foreign term for a body style to describe one of said body style’s notable aspects. Oddly enough, cars like the Citroën pictured above were routinely called “roadster” in French. One anglicism is worth another, I suppose.
The rumble seat died out sometime in the early post-war era, just as the Italian spiders started multiplying and geared up to conquer the world. By the ‘60s, the spiders (with a “y” or not) were everywhere. Alfa, Fiat, Ferrari and Lancia of course, but also Porsche, Opel, Sunbeam and even Škoda got in on the eight-legged craze. By the ‘90s of course, it had gone global. Mitsubishi, Renault, Daihatsu – it was spiders everywhere. By the way, don’t image-search “VW Beetle spider” unless you want to have nightmares tonight.
Very cosy, the inside of a Mitsubishi Spyder. The black leather was a one-year-only special for 1999, available with the two (!) body colours – black or red – one could pick for the Eclipse. Being US-made, the car was deliberately offered in LHD only on the Japanese market, just to make it more exotic.
I have not been able to find any production numbers for the Spyder specifically. It seems this generation Eclipse did OK for a specialty car, with 300k units made between June 1994 and July 1999 floating about the Interwebs, but whether this includes the Eagle Talon sister car is unclear.
It’s also unknown how many gen-2 Eclipses, with or without a soft-top, were shipped over to Japan. If my personal sightings are any indication (and they really aren’t), not too many made it over here. And fewer still have survived. That’s the problem with Spyders. Fragile little critters, aren’t they?
Related Reading
In-Motion Classic: 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse – Red With Envy, by Joseph Dennis
COAL Chapter 12: 1996 Eagle Talon – My Last Coupe, by SAlbertSCC
One of Mitsubishis various hits, at least in California, the Eclipse (1st and 2nd) were very well received amd seemed to exhibit very attractive design and good built quality. I believe the engine you reference is turbocharged, 210hp is quite high if it were a NA 2.0l but seems just around the right amount of power for the size and intent of the car.
It could almost be an American parking lot, what with the Crosstrek, Mazda3, Prius, and RAV4, the one or two kei cars being the only thing obviously giving the game away (and lack of F-250s of course!)
These things were *everywhere* in the early 2000s. Great looking cars in both coupe and Spyder form and especially with the later facelift with the smoked headlamp lenses and larger mouth. I imagine nearly all were highly abused by the ends of their lives but of all the sport coupes of the era it’d be hard to say this wasn’t one of the best of them.
I really wish they still made cars like this.
My understanding has long been that Italians tended to spell it as “spider” almost universally, until a couple of recent examples from Maserati and Lamborghini that used the “spyder” variant, which apparently originated in Germany with the Porsche 550 Spyder.