The 1962 Mitsubishi 500 was a small car produced by Mitsubishi Motors from 1960 to 1962. It was one of the first cars produced by the company after it was formed from a merge of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation.
The Mitsubishi 500 was a compact car, measuring just 3.2 meters in length and weighing around 550 kg. It was powered by a rear-mounted, air-cooled, two-stroke engine with a displacement of 493cc, producing 21 horsepower. This engine was mated to a 4-speed manual transmission.
The car had a maximum speed of around 105 km/h, and could do 0-80 km/h in about 25 seconds. It also had a fuel efficiency of around 7 to 8 liters per 100 km.
The Mitsubishi 500 was considered innovative at its time, with features such as a fully synchronized gearbox, unitized body construction, and semitrailing-arm rear suspension. However, it was not successful in the market, with only around 40,000 units produced in total. Nonetheless, it laid the foundation for Mitsubishi’s success in the automotive industry in the years to come.
