Lonsdale (car)

Lonsdale Car Company is a former car brand that drove briefly Australian Mitsubishi models in the UK.

History

Founded as the Lonsdale brand of the company Colt Car Company, the Mitsubishi importer for the British Isles. It served the purpose of circumventing the existing in the early 1980s, import restrictions on Japanese cars in the UK. Under the brand name Lonsdale should constructed in Japan vehicles that were manufactured under license in Australia, are marketed as Australian cars on the UK market.

Manufacturer of the car was the company Mitsubishi Motors Australia, which had emerged in the late 1970s from the Australian Chrysler subsidiary. Already since 1971, Chrysler had manufactured at its plant in the village of Lonsdale Mitsubishi models that were sold in the Australian market as a Chrysler. After the takeover of the plant by Mitsubishi especially the large saloons and estate cars of Mitsubishi Sigma series there were produced. The cars were technically almost identical to the Japanese models.

These models have been marketed since 1982 under the newly created brand Lonsdale in the UK. The Colt Car Company Lonsdale positioned as an affordable competitor to the 240 - series Volvo. Lonsdale was not successful in the market. In nine months, only about 800 vehicles were sold. In the spring of 1983, the Colt Car Company introduced the Lonsdale brand again.

Models

The Lonsdale models corresponded to the Australian Mitsubishi Sigma generation of GJ. They corresponded stylistically and technically the Japanese Mitsubishi Sigma that have been sold in Germany under the name Mitsubishi Galant. As drive either served a four-cylinder with 1.6 liters displacement and an output of 81 hp, a 2.0 -liter inline four- cylinder engine, the 95 hp (70 kW) and 152 Nm made ​​, or a 2.6 -liter four- cylinder with a maximum power of 103 PS (76 kW) and a maximum torque of 192 Nm. The latter engine is one of the largest displacement four-cylinder engines in the postwar period.

Lonsdale offered a four-door notchback sedan with the model name " Saloon" and a five-door estate ( " Estate" ). The purchase price was 1982 in the basic version, £ 7,499.

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