The fact that Mitsubishi still exists and manufactures cars in 2025 is a source of permanent wonder, isn’t it? These days, the Sick Carmaker of Japan title has reverted to Nissan, and rightly so, as they’re really in dire straits. But you know who is majority-owned by Nissan since 2016? Mitsubishi, of course. Always in the background. The start of this slow-motion death spiral is best exemplified by their Titanic-like flagship, the 2000-01 Proudia. I even found the rare super-deluxe V8 version, just to add gravitas to that sinking feeling.
We’ve had the pleasure before, for those of you with a long memory: I wrote a relatively long post about the 2000-01 Proudia back in 2020. But the Proudia came in two variants – a 3.5 litre V6 and a 4.5 litre V8 – and I had probably only bagged the former.
At least this one wears its uniqueness on its Hoffmeister kink in the form of a proud “V8” script. I therefore determined that a second look at the last big Mitsubishi was warranted. After all, this was the only 8-cyl. motor they ever created, and it was only made for a little over a year. That has to be some kind of record.
Historically, Mitsubishi always ensured that their JDM range was as wide as possible, running the gamut from the tiniest kei car all the way to swanky chauffeur-driven saloons. The latter was born in 1964 as the Debonair, remaining a fixture of Mitsubishi’s range for three decades (and generations). By the late ‘90s though, the name must have looked a little passé, so the powers that be decided that the new CEO-mobile would usher in more prestige, along with a new moniker.
As far as the prestige is concerned, the folks at Mitsu spared no expense. The car would be bigger than its predecessor, but with more up-to-date styling. It ended up looking like a cross between a Mercedes W140, a Lexus LS400 / Toyota Celsior and a Volvo S80. A factory-made stretch dubbed Dignity was also included at the very apex of the range, just to add an extra dash of exclusivity.
Under the large hood, two engine options were on offer: the 3.5 litre V6 already used in several Mitsubishi models (Debonair, Pajero, Diamante, etc.), albeit with a DOHC head and Mitsubishi’s pioneering electronic Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) technology. Said GDI was also applied to the very top-of-the-line engine option, the brand new 4.5 litre V8, sometimes known as the Omega or 8A80 engine. Just like the Toyota Century had its bespoke motor in the form of a 5-litre V12, the new Mitsu flagship would be available with something similarly unique.
As to the flagship’s name, Mitsubishi dug deep within the well of strange-sounding Engrish portmanteau creations that only the Japanese know about and came up with Proudia. Because they’re proud of it and it’s a diamond of a car. By the way, Mitsubishi’s three-diamond logo is a reflection of the corporation’s name: in Japanese kanji, it’s spelled 三菱 — the three bars are pronounced mitsu, meaning “three;” the second character, bishi, means “water chestnut,” a plant with diamond-shaped leaves.
In December 1999, Mitsubishi announced that the Proudia was added to their JDM lineup, with effective sales to start in February 2000. What a way to welcome the new Millennium, eh? But this substantial investment was not going to be taken on by Mitsubishi alone: the Proudia was actually co-created with Hyundai, who were also interested in having a Lexus-like car atop their range.
Actually, the Equus was launched in April 1999, eight months before the Proudia. Hyundai were very involved in the program: the famous 8A80 engine, for instance, was made with Korean aluminium. Hyundai shipped the blocks over to Japan for Mitsubishi to finalize assembly, as the GDI heads were made there. Hyundai ended up manufacturing their own V8 heads with regular fuel injection, because GDI didn’t behave all that well on Korean fuel.
The Proudia came in three trim levels – a remarkably restrained effort, for once. The base model was known as the A-Type and the mid-range one was the B-Type. Both of these were available with the 3.5 litre V6 only. The super-luxurious C-Type was the only one that allowed access to the joys of a transverse-mounted V8 driving the front wheels via a 5-speed automatic gearbox.
I’m sure the wood veneer is top notch and the leather is smoother than silk, but looking at this dash, one cannot help but feel a little underwhelmed by the Proudia’s interior. A gear shifter looks like a pepper mill (or something even spicier, take your pick), a centre stack has less personality than a late ‘90s Ikea TV cabinet and what, pray tell, is going on with the top of the instrument binnacle? Not up to Toyota standards, for sure.
I’m sure the back seat is a fine place to be. Probably just as good as a base-model BMW 7 Series or Mercedes S-Class. However, the Proudia was at least ¥2m cheaper than those luminaries of the executive segment. Would the great Japanese public be swayed by the big Mitsu’s value?
In a word, no, they did not. Given its price, comprised between ¥4.6m-¥6.4m, the Proudia competed more with imports than with domestic saloons. This was well below the Nissan President and Toyota Century (priced at ¥7.9m and ¥9.5m, respectively), but then those were a lot more car for the money. Let’s pretend it’s 25 years ago and we’re in the market for a chunky luxury car.
Tough neighbourhood to be in, for a lowly Mitsubishi. You would need to be a hard-core, dyed-in-the-wool diamond geezer of a Mitsu fanatic (or somehow related to the company, which most clients allegedly were) to go for the Proudia V8 over literally any other car in this table. Not that it’s intrinsically bad, but it really fails to stand out.
And so the Proudia became one of the worst duds in JDM history. In March 2001, faced with stark sales numbers and mired in a growing scandal within the company, Mitsubishi Motors decided to cancel the big car. A grand total of 1228 had been sold, plus 59 Dignity limos; the V8-powered cars would have accounted for less than a third of that total. The model’s saving grace was its Korean cousin, which did rather well and carried on until 2009.
Korean buyers were willing to given the Equus a chance, whereas Japanese customers just couldn’t see the point in these. It was FWD when they wanted RWD, it was clumsily derivative when its rivals were sharply-dressed, and it had no character at a price point where image was everything. At least, it gave us the least-produced Japanese V8 ever. So much for Mitsubishi’s first, last and oh-so-hubristic attempt at true luxury.
Related post:
Curbside Classic: 2000-01 Mitsubishi Proudia – It Came Before A Fall, by T87
I’d never heard of a Mitsubishi V8 and couldn’t think of a V8 with a shorter production run. I assume the Fiat 8V (1952-1954) and Cadillac Blackwing (2018-2020) outlived the Mitsubishi’s lifespan by at least weeks. There have been some with briefer lives such as the 1969 Pontiac 303 but I don’t think any qualified as “series-production”. There have though been a few short lived units which were just variants in displacement such as Mercury’s FE 410, Ford’s FE 406 and Chevrolet’s small block 262.
Packard V8 from ’55-56 was equally short lived.
During 1955 and 1956, Packard produced around 110,000 V-8 engines. A total of 109,867 automobiles used the Packard-produced V-8s during the 1955-1956 model years. The breakdown is: 1955 Packard Clipper – 38,684. 1955 Packard – 16,833. 1955 Nash – 10,580. 1955 Hudson – 6,219. 1956 Clipper – 18,482. 1956 Packard – 10,317. 1956 Nash – 4,681. 1956 Hudson – 3,015. 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk – 4,071. (American Motors introduced its own V-8 engines on March 6, 1956. By the end of the model year 4,145 were installed in the Senior Nashes, and 1,757 into the Senior Hudsons.
So glad you found this. But at the same time, it’s a pretty sad car.
What gets me is how old it looks for the era. Not old as in retro (retro hadn’t happened yet), or old as in comfortingly-conservative, but old as in obsolete. It looks like a fatter, squarer version of an ’89 Toyota Celsior. When your new flagship looks like a twelve-year-old premium Toyota, you know you’re in trouble. What were they thinking?
For the same money, I’d choose the Nissan Cima. Absolutely no question. If I wanted to save 1.5 M ¥, the Crown Majesta would do. It also has a V8 with the same output.
Having owned a 2000 Diamante, I have to wonder what this would do that a Diamante couldn’t. Those even look like Diamante taillights…..
I’m glad you mentioned the taillights before I did, I was going to call em Magna taillights.
Actually liked those lights back in the day, edged in chrome just like the old days.
Although I’ve never owned a car from a foreign manufacturer, I like the size and opulence of this PROUDIA as well as the upscale name. I can’t help noticing similarities with Cadillac FWD of the period. While I’m a PROUD lover of The Great American Land Yacht, at least the PROUDIA tries to provide a vehicle for those who prefer comfort, size and luxury. If I come across as snooty, it’s not my intention. Just adding a different point of view.
I have some sentimental feelings for Mitsubishi, but this poor car is just, well, not there.
The styling is particularly bad – it’s not ugly, but someone labored long and hard to make it completely forgettable, but in a Soviet bloc kind of way.
Two things:
-The Equus was marketed in Europe as the Centennial. I have one in Greece which was the official car of the president of the Athens Olympics. The back seat has writing desks, screens and a built-in fax machine.
-I saw a Proudia last fall in the Motorcar Museum of Japan. Possibly the most diverse collection of any car museum in the world.
There’s n o t h i n g about this car that appeals to me in any way.
My first choice: #12. My second choice: #9. My third choice – by a wide margin: #10.
Mitsubishi sold about a million cars last year, same as Subaru, and about 200,000 under Mazda. Is it so unwell? (Not pretending I know the answer, btw). Their weakness seems always to have been a lack of clear, on-going direction for their perfectly-decent, sometimes excellent cars. So many different advertising directions alone speaks of that.
This is an astonishing find. One of perhaps 400, and not some exotic, but a full-line, mass-made car. In Oz-talk, lemme say I’m Proudia, T. (“Proud of ya”, “ya” equating to “you”.)
People like to pick on Mitsubishi over the last 10 – 15 years. I think most of what drives that is Mitsubishi’s choice to market heavily to 0 down payment poor credit buyers ( a problem that has also plagued Nissan) to some extent the buyers were as much an issue as the product (or more). That’s not to say you can’t market to the low end but there needs to be some balance which companies like Hyundai have seemed to achieve. In a down turn, your financial arm (or partner bank) gets hit hard and low resale compounds the issue. You also get hit hard with buyers that can’t afford maintenance.
On the actual cars everyone I know who actually bought a Mitsubishi has very good luck with them. I have a coworker whose husband bought her a new GM suv every 5-6 years. about 5 years ago she said enough and she was picking her own car. She got a brand new fully loaded eclipse cross and had had no issues with it. Another coworker bought a beatup 2010 Lancer around the same time and is still driving it 6 years later with just a clutch and basic maintenance.
Totally with you on their weakness, Justy. Remember their ad campaign for the Magna where the tagline went: “Mitsubishi. Please consider.”? No enthusiasm for the product, no reason to purchase, just an apologetic “we’re here too”.
Then there was the unevenness of their product portfolio when they used to sell cars. Magna was a class leader that needed no excuses once you actually drove one, Lancer was solidly mid-pack, unless you got the incredible Evo, while Colt was just awful – although we’re a ‘Mitsubishi family’, my daughter drives a Jazz. I don’t blame her, it’s infinitely superior.
Today they sell the ASX which has been around for something like 15 years, and a confusing (to me) variety of other crossovers, SUVs, and pickups which seem to get changed and updated periodically, even if the styling gets more questionable. TBH I’m surprised they sold that many cars last year, though the 2024 figures for Australia put them fifth after Toyota, Ford, Mazda and Kia. Must mean either they’re weak in my area of I’m not noticing them.
Mitsubishi sales increased by 3.3% in their last fiscal year (ending March 2025) and sales in Japan were up 6.9%. Meanwhile Nissan sales were down 3%.
Mitsubishi has their challenges but it’s been profitable, so why should their continued existence be such a wonder?
Mitsubishi are strange. They stopped selling cars in the UK in 2021, but they still have reasonable dealer representation. They apparently have a plan to return – they’ve been rebuilding their business in Europe with vehicles based on Renaults.
Great find. I think I’ve only ever seen one here.
The paradox of the Mitsu-Hyundai relationship is striking – going from “senpai-kohai” to exactly the opposite over 60 years.
My take is one of the major drivers of the government’s push for a Honda-Nissan merger was they were deathly afraid Hyundai would make an offer for Nissan, given their close collaboration over the years. A Korean company owning a storied Japanese one? Even with the improvement in relations, that would have been a burden too heavy to bear.
I am familiar with the Equus but I was unaware of its links to Mitsubishi. In 2006 and 2007 my company had a client in Seoul and I spent a fair bit of time there. If you timed it right you could see the company president arriving in his chauffeur driven Equus. Although the company was a subsidiary of an American company, it was all Korean and very hierarchical. I never met the president in the course of my work. I did come back to Canada with a love of Korean food, which was easily satisfied in Toronto.