COLT F3A M itsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (renamed from Shin Mitsubishi Heavy-Industries, Ltd. in 1964) moved its motorsport activities from passenger car based 'Touring Cars" to the Formula Car, open-wheeler classes in 1966. The circumstances that led to this change in emphasis were, among other reasons, the entry of Honda into Formula 1, the building of the first domestic formula car, and the suspension of that years Japan GP In general, the center of interest in world motorsport was moving away from touring cars and toward open-wheel formula cars. The first formula car from Mitsubishi was the 'Colt F3A'. This car was an original design tubular steel chassis fitted with a Colt 1000 R28 engine and was entered in the Japan Grand Prix of 1966. The modified R28 engine was a straight overhead valve (OHV) configuration of 997 cc capacity that produced 90 h.p. at 8000 rpm. At this time in Japanese motorsport the formula car classes had only just been introduced and were called "Exhibition" races. However, the Colt F3A was competitive from the beginning and, taking on the imported Lotuses and Brabhams, won the Exhibition class of the 1966 Japan GP, an amazing victory for a domestically built chassis. During that season the F3A won a majority of the races it contested. This year also saw the completion of Fuji Speedway and the start of a new stage in the development of Japanese motorsport. BACK

Copyright 1996,1997 by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.