Mitsubishi Delica

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Mitsubishi Delica

The Mitsubishi Delica is a range of multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) built by Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors

is the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries....
since 1969. It was originally based on a small pickup truck

Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads....
introduced the previous year, also called the Delica, its name derived from the English "DELIvery CAr". This truck, and a commercial van

Van

A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people. It is usually a box-shaped vehicle on four wheels, about the same width and length as a large automobile, but taller and usually higher off the ground, also referred to as a light commercial vehicle or LCV....
derived from it, was later rebadged as L300

Mitsubishi L300

The Mitsubishi L300 is a rear-wheel drive minivan manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors since the 1980s. Production of the L300 began in the early 1970s, then called the Mitsubishi Delica, but the company eventually changed the van to the L300, while the Delica name went to the people mover vehicle which had its own design....
and thereafter the Delica nameplate was reserved for the non-commercial market.

First generation (1969)
The production of the Delica light commercial cab-over pickup began in 1968.

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First generation (1969)

The production of the Delica light commercial cab-over pickup began in 1968. Using a KE44
Mitsubishi KE engine

The Mitsubishi KE engine is a range of piston engines produced by Mitsubishi Motors during the 1960s. They were extensively used in the various Mitsubishi Colt-branded vehicles the company produced from 1963....
1.1 L engine producing , its maximum payload was and had a top end speed of . A year later, in line with consumer needs, a cargo van and a passenger van were added to the lineup. The passenger van adopted the name Star Wagon and could seat nine people in three rows of seats.

Second generation (1979)

The Delica's popularity meant that in 1979 the line-up was expanded to include ten model variations encompassing a wide variety of passenger, cargo and recreational applications. A four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a Powertrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously....
option was made available in 1982, a first in the Japanese van market.

Third generation L300 Star Wagon (1986)

In 1986 the Delica underwent its third full model change. More aerodynamic than previous versions, its monocoque body and extensive safety features proved very popular in Japan's fast-growing recreational vehicle market segment.

Although the subsequent L400 Space Gear was introduced in 1994, the L300 model remained in production in parallel until 1998. Thereafter, Mitsubishi sold badge engineered

Badge engineering

Badge engineering is a term that describes the badge of one product as another. Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a totally new model, or establishing a new brand , it is often more cost-effective to rebadge a single product multiple times....
Mazda Bongo

Mazda Bongo

The Mazda Bongo is a van manufactured by Mazda of Japan. Since 1978, it has been exported as the Mazda E-Series and as the Ford Econovan....
s, an arrangement also followed by Hyundai

Hyundai Motor Company

The Hyundai Motor Company, a division of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, is South Korea?s largest and the world?s fifth largest automaker in terms of units sold per year....
(Grace

Hyundai Grace

The Hyundai Grace is a minibus/van produced by Hyundai Motor Company.The first-generation Grace was launched in December 1986 and this version a rebadged Mitsubishi Delica/Mitsubishi L300....
) and Nissan (Vanette

Nissan Vanette

Nissan Vanette is the name of a series of small vans sold by Nissan Motors Japan and North America. There was formerly a separate model sold in Europe under the same name, however it was unrelated to the version that is sold in Japan and North America....
).

Fourth generation L400 Space Gear (1994)

1993–1996

The fourth generation is based on the chassis of the Mitsubishi Pajero

Mitsubishi Pajero

The Mitsubishi Pajero is a sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. It was named after Leopardus pajeros, the Pampas Cat which inhabits the Patagonia region in southern Argentina....
and has full off road capabilities, with four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a Powertrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously....
, high and low ratio gears and differential locking. It has engine variations from 2.5 litres through to a 2.8 L intercooled turbodiesel

Turbodiesel

Turbodiesel refers to any diesel engine with a turbocharger. Turbocharging is the norm rather than the exception in modern car and truck diesel engines....
. A 2.4 L and a 3.0 L V6 petrol engine with 12 or 24 valves, each with 4 gears and overdrive. Apart from the 2.8 L diesel model they are available as a two or a four wheel drive version.

Body specifications range from XR, XG, Exceed, Super Exceed and Royal Exceed, and both long and short wheelbase versions were available.

1996–present

In 1996/1997 the Delica Space Gear was upgraded with a facelift model. The upgrade is mostly cosmetic with changes to the lighting clusters and front bodypanel, with the integration of a moulded bumper in place of the original three section bullbar. The engine was upgraded with an electronic control type distribution type jet pump and an electronic sidestep was made standard on the higher specification versions.

Fifth generation (2007)

On October 30 2006 Mitsubishi Motors announced that the next generation of its monobox minivan would be called the Delica D:5, based on the Concept D-5 prototype first exhibited at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show

Tokyo Motor Show

The is a biennial auto show held in October-November at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Chiba, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association , it is a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, and normally sees more concept cars than...
in 2005. It is an eight-seater, that features Mitsubishi's AWC

Mitsubishi AWC

All Wheel Control is the brand name of a four-wheel drive system developed by Mitsubishi Motors. The system was first incorporated in the 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution....
four wheel drive

Four Wheel Drive

The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich....
system and an INVECS-III
INVECS

INVECS is the brand name used by Mitsubishi Motors for its electronic automatic transmission technology....
continuously variable transmission

Continuously variable transmission

A continuously variable transmission is a Transmission which can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values....
, coupled to a 4B12 2.4 L MIVEC

MIVEC

MIVEC is the brand name of a variable valve timing Internal combustion engine technology developed by Mitsubishi Motors. MIVEC, as with other similar systems, varies the timing, lift and duration of the poppet valves by using two different camshaft profiles....
straight-4

Straight-4

The straight-4 or inline-4 engine is a four cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinder mounted in a straight line along the crankcase....
engine. Based on a new global GS platform

Mitsubishi GS platform

The GS platform is a compact car platform co-developed by Mitsubishi Motors and DaimlerChrysler, which underpins the companies' compact cars. After DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi went their separate ways in 2004, DaimlerChrysler made substantial changes to the platform....
, new Delica features Mitsubishi's next-generation RISE
Mitsubishi RISE

Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution or Realized Impact Safety Evolution is the brand name of Mitsubishi Motors patent safety body construction system....
safety body.

It was released in Japan on January 31 2007, with prices ranging from ¥2,614,500 to ¥3,412,500.

Production

Year	Japan	Philippines	Taiwan	China
1995	109,930	n/a	n/a
1996	88,978	n/a	n/a
1997	69,495	n/a	n/a
1998	34,614	n/a	n/a
1999	17,758	n/a	n/a
2000	28,242	2,918*	8,125
2001	12,965	2,079*	5,133	690
2002	17,456	2,925*	4,192	600
2003	13,011	3,529*	5,166	13,710
2004	16,432	2,826*	3,862	16,074
2005	16,444	3,685*	2,315	5,960
2006	16,041	3,992*	1,160	-
2007	14,824	4,580*	1,115	-

*L300 only.