European luxury and sports cars were the status symbols of choice during the junk bond fueled financial excess of the Eighties. While European automakers designated their models and platforms with alphanumeric combinations like W124, Mitsubishi took what is quite possibly the most aptly named car ever and added a measure of European sporting style by way of tuning house AMG. The 1987 Debonair V 3000 Royal AMG is a fusion of Japan and Europe in a single ultra-executive package.
The Debonair was the top line executive-class Mitsubishi since 1964. As was the trend in the Eighties, or possibly an adjunct of a 1987 commercial vehicle agreement between Mercedes and Mitsubishi, a Debonair was hewn into reigning europerformance monochromatic style by Hans Werner Aufrecht, Erhard Melcher and the AMG crew. The collision of Japanese high-tech luxury and AMG performance-bred style was clearly aimed at modern young executives. The Debonair V 3000 Royal AMG was short-lived, though AMG and Mitsubishi would team up again later.
The Mitsubishi Debonair V 3000 Royal AMG was not available in the United States market. The closest we came was perhaps the 1989 Sigma, which shared the Debonair’s single overhead-camshaft V-6 6G72 engine, front-wheel-drive configuration, and electronically adjustable suspension available with the Eurotech Package. The Sigma had luxury, but it was no AMG. The good news is that if you could locate one, this and all other 25-year-old imported automobiles have hit DOT exemption status. While there were supposedly no AMG performance modifications in the Debonair AMG package, this 1987 commercial touts a supercharged version of the Mitsubishi Debonair.
