When Chrysler Tapped Mitsubishi to Build a Sporty Coupe … for the Fourth Time

By the turn of the century, Chrysler had a long and established history of dipping into Mitsubishi’s manufacturing prowess to create a sports coupe of their own. 2001 marked the fourth time Chrysler did so, and it was probably the last, as both Chrysler and Mitsubishi are on the ropes, suffering in the market like any coupe currently for sale in our SUV-heavy climate. But perhaps we need to step back a bit before we discuss what happened two decades ago, for the fourth time.

(As you will see in the comments below, I have callously overlooked the 1976 Plymouth Arrow and the 1984 Chrysler Conquest. I hereby apologize and beg for your mercy! – SM)

The first Mitsubishi-Chrysler coupe creation (1978-83 Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo) was a captive import, made by Mitsubishi in Sapporo, Japan, and shipped to Chrysler dealers eager to fight the Japanese brands with their own weaponry. The second Chrysler coupe iteration spawned two products (Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser, alongside the Mitsubishi Eclipse) and were made by the famous Diamond Star Motors (DSM) joint venture, in a shared factory with an annual production capacity of 135,000 units.

The DSM partnership likely came to fruition because of the same export restraints that ensured Nissan needed the high-margin Infiniti brand for America. And since Mitsubishi wasn’t making the Japanese equivalent of a Chevy Truck or Lincoln Town Car, platforms sold under multiple brands and body styles could help keep the factory afloat. The third instance of Chrysler’s borrowed coupes (1995-00 Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring) was a forgettable byproduct of the partnership, especially relative to the successful second effort with the DSM sport compact triplets.

The irony in these third-generation Mitsubishi-Chrysler coupes was likely not lost on Chrysler dealerships, as they had to sell and service two unique platforms that played in the same sandbox. There was the Mitsubishi-based Chrysler Sebring coupe, a Chrysler JA platform sedan called Cirrus, and a LeBaron-succeeding JA convertible also called Sebring. And we haven’t even discussed the Dodge Avenger coupe and Stratus sedan, which were usually sold under the same roof, at the same time.

If you’re a bit confused, join the club: I cannot believe the sheer volume of time (1995-2005) that passed while Chrysler allowed these internal conflicts to coexist. Even worse, the initial reasons for production are unclear. (At least the Cirrus name was retired in 2000, so all Chrysler versions lived under the Sebring name.)

Further muddying the waters is the fact that the so-called “merger of equals” happened in 1998, when Mercedes-Benz bought Chrysler and the two became DaimlerChrysler. This could have left Mitsubishi in the lurch, but in March 2000 DaimlerChrysler bought a whopping 34% stake in Mitsubishi. Perhaps the all-new 2001 Chrysler Sebring (and Dodge Avenger Stratus) coupe was worth such an investment?

I struggle to find context to make sense of the situation, but by the 2000 model year, Mitsubishi’s own Eclipse gained a new platform with a new name (ST-22) that mushroomed into a bigger, cushier, and more refined slower vehicle. It was an unfortunate tribute to Malaise Era engineering from decades past, and still serves as a source of disappointment for Eclipse fans. But could Mitsubishi’s ST-22 platform have been what the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus coupe needed to survive against the scourge of the SUV?

More to the point, was the fourth time the charm for Chrysler?

Again, it is hard to justify the Sebring/Stratus coupe’s ST-22 underpinnings considering Chrysler already made a two-door Sebring based on its successful JA “cloud car” platform—it just lacked a fixed roof. That droptop Chrysler was technically underpinned by a JA derivation called the JX platform, which throws another wrench into the system: Why make the JX Sebring convertible in the first place since Mitsubishi has been making an Eclipse convertible since 1996?

The Sebring coupe saga brings about more questions than answers. Differentiation between Chrysler’s ST-22 coupe and its convertible (JX) and sedan (JA) relatives was most evident in the interiors, as the coupe eschewed fake wood trim for a silver center stack on that “unique” dash borrowed from the 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse. Externally the differences were far more subtle, as Chrysler worked hard to integrate ST-22 hard points with Chrysler styling DNA. Perhaps that wasn’t hard to accomplish, as all Chryslers looked equally radical upon adoption of the 1998 Concorde’s homage to mid-century Ferrari grilles.

Motorweek got its hands on the last Chrysler-Mitsubishi coupe back in the day and went straight to the heart of its Eclipse origin story. Making the connection between the ST-22 platform and the “genetic engineering” threats lobbed from the Monsanto corn controversy is an interesting parallel for an otherwise bland instance of platform sharing.

A “pox on the house of Chrysler” may have come from Motorweek sampling the automatic transmission in their Sebring coupe, but the powertrain was likely the most sought-after with buyers. Performance was a bit of Malaise Era for the Internet Age, with lethargic stats and soft springs befitting a modern-day Chrysler Cordoba. While things like the headlights are shared with the Chrysler Sebring sedan, Motorweek suggests the Eclipse-derived coupe is “its own car” with no boy racer trappings.

Speaking of headlights, you’d figure the last two years of Sebring coupe production would strictly follow its sedan and convertible stablemate’s lead. Except not, as the ST-22 coupe’s headlights became unique in 2004, diverging from the units made for the 2004 Sebrings made on Chrysler platforms. The coupe’s lights make it look a bit like the 2001 Acura RSX, a notion likely overlooked and left in the dark by most.

But there’d be no light at the end of this tunnel. After years of this platform-sharing effort, including DaimlerChrysler’s doubling down with their investment into Mitsubishi Motors, it came to an end with the coupe’s retirement in 2005. The sedan and convertible carried on, and after DaimlerChrysler’s dissolution in 2007 led to Chrysler being sold to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, the brand’s new owners wisely decided to keep things simple. Private equity gets a bad rap for valid reasons, but the decision to not revisit the decades of confusion that began with the 1978 Plymouth Sapporo and ended with the 2005 Chrysler Sebring coupe is likely not a bone of contention for most readers.

And on that frustratingly complex note, perhaps it’s worth noting that the Chrysler Sebring’s legacy has yet more stories to tell. But those complications are for another day.