Hot Wheels 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse coupe and convertible

The Mitsubishi Eclipse has been made popular in the tuning world no thanks to a starring role in the first "Fast and Furious" movie, as well as in the second sequel.  The latter movie probably played the role in the convertible release of this casting, yet before that the coupe was available a few years earlier as a McDonald's toy promo.

The Eclipse coupe was introduced in 1989 as a sporty coupe model for the brand and since then has sold quite well.  In 1995 the styling got more sharper and added a new convertible to the mix.  By the 2000 model year the 3000GT VR4 was gone and that left the Eclipse as the only sports coupe in the model line.  In 1998 the SST concept car previed the new styling direction of the next Eclipse.  In 2000 the third-generation Eclipse debut with much of the concept car lines still intact.  The styling was more angular with ribbed side paneling that would make this car more fit for the Pontiac brand at the time than Mitsubishi.  The interior has a more typical layout that now has the center controls angled between both driver and passenger.  The top engine is the 3.0L SOHC V6 that produced 205 horsepower through a 5-speed manual transmission to the front wheels.  After this generation the Eclipse would get bigger and less sportier leading to its demise in the Mitsubishi line.

The white one is the McDonald's car based on the coupe and already has that tuner car look to it.  The front has the smooth and angled headlights with ribbed patter with signal lights below them and a large center grille just above the chin spoiler.  On the sides the ribbed patter is visible on the doors, the 3-spoke wheels work well with this car, and even the exterior mirrors are visible.  At the rear I added taillight detailing to compliment the rear spoiler and dual exhaust system.  There is no interior on these McDonalds castings and the base is totally incorrect showing off a rear-wheel drive layout for a front-wheel drive car.  I like the clean look of this car and it was a great start since at the time of this castings introduction there was no other replica of the third-generation Eclipse, or any Eclipse model thereof.  That changed when the convertible arrived in the mainline in 2004 as a few more Eclipse replica models existed and all had that tuner car look to them. 

The new convertible has a more wilder tuner look and lots of great detailing in contrast to the coupe.  The front has detailed headlights, more visible bumper ribs, and a larger lower grille with three openings.  The hood has more vents than the coupe, while the sides have visible ribs along with larger exterior mirrors and lower ground effects.  The Y-5 wheels look great on this casting as well.  Out back the rear spoiler is taller and now part of the metal body, the taillights are detailed into the metal body, Mitsubhishi logo's are visible front and rear, and the lower bumper is modified to include a larger diffuser and a central exhaust tip.  The one odd part is the missing metal bar across the top of the windshield.  The base underneath shows off the proper front-wheel drive layout with detailed engine and exhaust system components.  Inside the interior has the proper dashboard layout with visible round air vents and center stack controls.  The front seats are stock but joined by 5-point harness on both seats and the center console with shifter.  The rear seats are removed and in its place are a plethora of subwoofers and amplifiers.  While most would think this is tuner car overkill, the level of detailing in the convertible is what impresses me the most and overshadows the shortcomings of the coupe.