GoodBye 4G63!

The heart of Mitsubishi

Look at the specifications of Mitsubishi 4G63 four-cylinder engine and there is nothing to get particularly excited about. It is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with an iron block, aluminum four-valve DOHC heads up on each cylinder and, well, not much else. No direct injection, no exotic formulated reciprocating parts, and MIVEC variable valve timing is only a recent addition. There are dozens of engines from other manufacturers that are more advanced, but none have proved more durable than this hardcore beast. The 4G63 is, first and foremost tough. Throw more boost, and the block does not crack open the head gasket will sit and crank not break.

The 4G63 is a relative of Mitsubishi's 'Sirius' of four-cylinder engines, all of which were developed during the 80s as a power supply for mainstream cars and trucks. The 4G61, for example, had a 1.6-liter DOHC 16-valve version of the same basic engine used in the Mirage and the Dodge Colt in the late '80s, while the 4G62 was a 1.8-liter SOHC, eight-valve version Cordia Tredia used in and by the end of their production. The 4G63 name implies simply that two liters engine displaces Sirius. While 4G63s have all the 85mm cylinder bore and an 88mm stroke (1997cc total displacement), the 4G63 installed in the Mighty Max pickup had 84mm bores and a 90mm stroke in 1996 due to the displacement cc (but the same nominal 2, 0-liter description).

It is the 4G63T-T for the turbo version of the 4G63 engine that glamor is Mitsu for nearly two decades. Introduced in the first Eclipse GS and GSX where it sported 190bhp, the MIVEC-controlled current and intercooled version of the Evo IX is assessed on a full 286bhp. And in the limited production, never-in-America, UK-spec FQ-400, was making about 400bhp.

Making so much power in stock form is not the construction of the 4G63-legend that is just the beginning. Sustained capacity well beyond 600hp are not exactly common, but they do exist. Some tuners even claim to reach over 1000hp.

But it can not live forever. Even small-block V8 Chevy's was replaced by a new architecture with the introduction of the 1997 Corvette. Time to rid Mitsubishi 4G63? Apparently so. When the Evo X will appear next year a new all-aluminum 2.0-liter turbo engine, "World Engine" is reportedly between 280-350bhp will be under the hood. Let's hope the launch of a new and exciting chapter in the history Mitsu.