Live Your 90s Dreams With This Dodge Stealth R/T

The Dodge Stealth R/T, essentially a rebadgedMitsubishi 3000GT, sparked some controversy when it debuted in the US back in late 1990. It was selected to be the pace car at the 1991 Indy 500 but there was a problem with that, at least with the UAW. Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the annual race, the car's selection angered the union because it didn't come from America, but rather Nagoya, Japan.

To them, the Stealth was nothing more than a Japanese car that threatened America's auto workers. Its presence at the Indy 500, aka "America's Race," therefore was something that should not happen, even though there was no specific rule banning foreign-built vehicles to serve as pace cars. However, the recently ended Persian Gulf War had sparked a wave of patriotism nationwide and UAW leaders took advantage of this in order to cement the union's status and gain points among the public at the same time. It worked like a charm.

Instead of the Stealth R/T, the first-generationDodge Viperbecame that year's Indy pace car. Honestly, it would have made sense for the Viper to have been selected in the first place given the fact Carroll Shelby played a role in its creation and it was designed and built in the USA. The problem beforehand was that the production Viper wasn't quite ready yet, but the UAW's actions also forced Chrysler to accelerate its new roadster's development in order to have it ready for race day.

With that history lesson over, let's turn back to the Dodge Stealth itself. While its Mitsubishi counterpart was sold through model year 2000, the Stealth only lasted until 1996. The brand didn't offer an affordable performance coupe until the arrival of the rebornDodge Challenger在2008年。

A total of four variants were offered, Base, ES, R/T, and R/T Turbo. Of course, the latter was the one to get if you wanted the most power, but all four came with a 3.0-liter V6. The base had a total of 164 horsepower while the ES and R/T produced 222 hp thanks to the addition of an extra cam.