The Mitsubishi Eclipse was launched in 1989 in the North American automotive market. It was one of the three cars, along with the Eagle Talon and the Plymouth Laser, produced by Mitsubishi Motors. The Eclipse was manufactured by Diamond Star Motors (DSM) in Illinois. It had a front wheel drive, and was a 3-Door hatchback with a 1.8 liter inline four cylinder engine. The main feature of the Eclipse was its sporty and aggressive look. The Eclipse has gone through numerous performance shifts and body changes for more than two decades and is now widely available in North America, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, China, and South Korea.
The 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse came in three variants, the RS, GS and GT. The RS and GS came has a standard new 2.4 liter inline four cylinder engine, rated at 154 bhp. The GT sported a 3.0 liter V6 engine, rated at 205 bhp. In 2001, the Eclipse underwent a facelift and emerged as the Spyder convertible, available in the GS and GT variants, with the same engines as the hardtop coupe. The 2001 RS and GS sported a 2.4 I4 154 bhp with 5500 rpm and 163 lb-ft with 4000 rpm performance. The GT variant sported a 3.0 V6 205 bhp with 5500 rpm and a 205 lb-ft with 4500 rpm performance.
As Mitsubishi will cease production of the Eclipse after the upcoming 2012 model year without offering a replacement model, the SE Special Edition is the manufacturer's way of saying goodbye to a model series produced since 1989.
