This is not a terribly well known car, only 1284 of these 454 ForFours were apparently converted by Brabus, and 284 of them were sold in the UK, of which about 200 remain on the road here.
The 454 was built in the same former Volvo/Mitsubishi factory as its sister car the Colt series V1, and sold between 2004 and 2006. In Europe the car was called a Kombi that’s Foreign talk for Estate Car, and for good reason, because unlike a normal hatchback, the split fold rear seats fold and then tumble up against the front seat backrests, where they are secured in the upright position by hooking to a headrest post with the provided strap. This leaves a flat floor for a load; it acts in the Autosolo motorsport discipline to move quite bit of weight forward to lighten the rear axle load to allow the rear to slide more readily when provoked. The car shares platform and running rear with the Colt and a choice of 5 engines and three transmissions, but has a different body comprising the steel Smart Tridion type outer framework, onto which are fastened plastic panels., the exception being the steel bolted on scuttle. The interior was available in three trim levels, the highest of which, Passion, was the basis on which the Brabus cars for the UK were built.
Brabus modified the Mitsubishi 1468cc $G15T turbo engine to produce 177bhp instead of the top Colt’s 147(later increased to 163), fitted leather interior trim with heated front seats, aluminium pedal inserts, fancier handbrake lever and multifunction steering wheel, Brabus wheels, (which are pretty soft unfortunately) 7J at front & 8J at rear, deepened front airdam and large tailgate spoiler. A Brabus rear silencer with twin tail pipes was also fitted. The dash had two pods on the top, with analogue temperature and time displays(replaced in mine by a boost gauge), despite these first two readouts being available digitally on the regular instruments. A hinged centre arm rest for front or rear passengers can also be revolved to become a cupholder. The Brabus internal bits could also be ordered to be fitted to the lesser ForFours.
I bought my own car in early 2018 to use as a toy and replace my Renault Sport Clio 172 Cup. Comparing the two cars, the former is far more chuckable, and raw in the way one would expect of a car built as a homologation special rather than a luxurious hot hatch.
My car is now modified to combat its inherent noticeable understeer and lack of traction (even now it will still spin its front wheels accelerating on WOT out of tight corners), and to slightly lower the previously comparatively high c of g and roll. The usual route to this end was employed, viz: coilovers, markedly increased camber, and squaring up the wheel widths. A proprietary rear anti-roll bar would also have been fitted but are no longer available.
Engine tuning on these cars, as with many turbos, is relatively easy, apparently a drag racer has 360bhp, and a circuit racer is reaching 320bhp.
To remain flexible for my Autosolo use, modifications have been limited to fitting a straight through stainless silencer(which still easily meets the sound testing requirements), a better turbo bend and inlet manifold and a K&N panel filter. Brabus eliminated the blow off facilty of the Colt, and people who have retrofitted same have lost power as a result. A proper rolling road software modification, by a Mitsubishi specialist, has resulted in 219BHP at 5850rpm and maximum torque of 229 lbs ft@ 4200rpm. This is reaching the limits of the standard clutch, which means that judicious use of the clutch is needed in 4th and fifth gears. The car is geared for the Autobahn, with about 80 achievable in second, which more than encompasses my Autosolo needs.
Motorway fuel consumption off boost can be as high as 34mpg, and country road on boost use take it down to 25-27 mpg.
The GT was a great looking car in its gleaming metallic gold paintwork with slotted disc wheels, and was sometimes mistaken for a Bristol by those that thought they knew cars. When running it was a fine touring car, and despite its size, fun to chuck about the Yorkshire lanes
I had to buy an old Honda 90 motorcycle during my Scimitar ownership to guarantee getting to work, and to run around buying parts for the car. When I had to refill the motorcycle fuel tank (the only maintenance I did to the bike) , I realised that it was time to sell the car and buy something more reliable yet that I could develop for motorsport, so I bought a Lada, and apart from a points failure when flat out, it never let me down, despite many competition outings..
Submitted by: Anthony Parker
