I recently took part in the inaugural Arizona Rising Sun Rallye and it was a perfect example of what car culture should be. Summer weather in Phoenix is hot enough to burn off the enthusiasm of an average car person. When the temperatures start coming down to a somewhat normal level in the area come October, they’re itching to get back out and hit the best driving roads with some like-minded pals. Reserved for pre-2000s Japanese-built machines, the 2024RSR brought out some truly incredible cars owned and driven by some great people. From the six-figure grand tourers and kyusha masterpieces to run-of-the-mill Miatas, they’re all out there having a blast.
One of the organizers of the rally is a good friend of mine. As luck would have it, I was heading through Phoenix the same weekend as the rally, and asked if I could tag along. The fact that I’m a German car nut didn’t get me shunned at the door, but instead of letting me run the rally in a car that doesn’t fit the theme, I had to borrow something more appropriate than my 2016 Audi A3 Etron. I slid into the driver’s seat of the car equivalent of a well-worn running shoe built in Illinois for the German market.
How do you get a car built by Americans for a German buyer into a vintage Japanese car rally? Well, it wears a Mitsubishi badge. Checkmate!
This first-generation Mitsubishi Eclipse was built in Normal, Illinois in the same plant where Rivian now builds big electric trucks and SUVs. Known colloquially as DSMs, the ones everyone seems to covet were all-wheel-drive and turbocharged, but this example is neither. This front-driver carries a non-turbocharged 4G63 engine with a pretty significant compression bump good for 150 ponies. The all-wheel drive and turbocharged GSX was rated at 180 horsepower, but was significantly chunkier carrying around 300 pounds more than this example.
I’m dancing my ass off at a high-society party. Everyone has arrived in tuxedos and ball gowns, but I’m letting it all hang out in a lived-in hoodie and jeans. I’m someone’s plus-one and I’m making an ass of myself, but I’m having so much fun I couldn’t possibly care. The whole dancefloor is having fun, but I’m convinced I’m having just a little bit more than everyone else. This car just fits so well, it’s the right size, the perfect amount of power, and enough grip to provide confidence but not enough to make every corner a known quantity. Order up another drink and just sit back and watch us dance together. We’re the life of the party.
There’s nothing quite like this on the market in 2024. This is old-school analog driving at its best. When the most advanced computers of the day could barely figure out anti-lock braking you had to rely on your hands and feet to control the car. With an attractive wedgy 1980s shape, a shifter that actually gives your hand the information it needs, surefooted FWD grip, and sea-freighter-in-a-squall levels of body roll, this Eclipse really makes you work for your speed, but in a way that pushes you to keep trying. I didn’t think I would love this car, but given a beautiful day on freshly-paved desert it really endears itself to the driver.
Yeah, it’s got a clock full of kilometers on the dash, and the Arizona sun hasn’t exactly been kind to the paint and trim, but it drives like a dream. Mechanically this car is essentially brand new with a fresh top-end rebuild, some refreshed suspension components, and a sticker set of tires playing all the hits. In 2024 it seems like every enthusiast car is a bajillion dollars, but something like this proves that you don’t have to spend a mint to have a good time. You just have to have the right attitude.
Many enthusiasts would turn their noses up at a car like this, but not on the Rising Sun Rallye. Machines like this Eclipse are something of a litmus test for car folks. Any party that would turn this car away at the door is a party I don’t want to attend.
I’ve been a participant in many auto enthusiast driving events in this vein in almost every type of driving environment the United States has to offer, and even hosted a couple myself. The upshot of hosting a rally like this in Phoenix is that the city is absolutely packed to the gills with car enthusiasts. Getting 35 cars together for an all-Japanese extravaganza is, well it’s not easy, but it’s a reasonable request. These kinds of events are for people who are looking for excuses to get out and drive their cars with like-minded folks. This isn’t one of those fancy wine-and-cheese driving events that charge thousands for the “experience.” This event was $80 to participate, and it came with a t-shirt and dinner.
For 2024, because it was the first time these folks had put a rally together in the area, this was something of a test run. The organizers kept the event to a single day, but gave us a couple hundred miles of excellent desert and mountain driving roads. Climb aboard your kaiju, we’re going hunting for the good roads. The wind-whipped dusty roads an hour or so north of Phoenix are on par with the best this country has to offer. This is an opportunity to get out there and earn a little patina, and everyone here reveled in it.
Do I have any critiques? I want more! I wish this rally offered more miles, more impromptu roadside hangouts, and took place across more than one day. Speaking with the organizers, this seems to be a common theme among participants, and all will likely be added for the 2025 running. If you’re in the area, it’s worth participating. See you there?
In all this was a very fun day of driving in a very fun little car. In addition to some great roads and wonderful people, the American southwest continues to provide some of the best views in the world. Every night since I have dreamt of craggy outcroppings, the red-tan earth pockmarked with scrubby green, a fistful of Eclipse steering wheel, and the undulating unpredictability of a rarely-used Arizona back road.
