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The reptile was supine, and I made the mistake of assuming its inert state for immobility. One look at its mesmerising eyes and I was drawn to it inexorably. It had to be red in colour, and had a dangerous-looking snarl on its face. Muscular flanks gave it the impression of powerful jaws that can chew just about anything that it meets. Soon I was transfixed and hopelessly in its clutches. So will you be by the time you finish reading this piece.

FTOh!

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the Mitsubishi FTO. So unlike the Japanese, but very typical of the idiosyncratic Mitsubishi, they have kept this stunner to themselves. Being right-hand drive, a few importers in the UK came across the car and lapped it up - it became an instant hit, because buyers were getting a red-blooded thoroughbred sports car for the price of an average Ford sedan. So much so, today it is almost a cult car. This phenomenon is not restricted to Ol' Blighty, but even in the domestic Japanese market, where there are FTO groupies who meet and celebrate the love of their lives.

In fact, the FTO was named the '94-'95 Japanese Car of the Year, the first sports car to win this award since Toyota's MR 2 in 1984. The reasons? It offered superb performance, had an excellent chassis, featured the advanced INVECS-2 Tiptronic transmission, and all this at an unbeatable price.

There's more FTO trivia. In case you are an avid fan of that man without bones, Jackie Chan, then the FTO would be familiar to you. In the movie Thunderbolt, he races in a silver-coloured FTO, and in Final Project too, it figures in some of the sequences.

After Toyota's MR 2, Celica and Sera, back home in India, now it's the turn of this potent Mitsubishi to become the hottest import on four wheels, as for around Rs 25 lakhs you get a gorgeous Ferrari-like coupe, a 2000 CC 180 bhp engine, four seats, a humungous boot and loads of attention. There are probably three of these in Mumbai and several official imports and unofficial benami ones in Delhi. Of course, if you want to buy it second-hand, the price gets chopped by a whopping Rs 10 lakhs - depending on your negotiating ability of course.

It was by sheer coincidence that the Business Standard Motoring team fell prey to this red devil. We were on our way to our test-track in two Mitsubishi Lancers (See the June 1999 issue of The Business Standard Motoring Monthly, in which we featured both the diesel and petrol Lancers and a DC Pro-Kit version) when we spotted this car innocuously parked in the side. A few discreet enquiries later, we got the opportunity to get behind the wheel of Snake Eyes.

In a rev-erie

I am enclosed snugly inside the car. The three-spoke steering wheel, knobs, dials, counters all look contemporary - remember, this model is at least three years old. I can barely hear that 2000 CC V6 under the hood. Since it's an automatic, (with Tiptronic transmission - I'll come to this later), I move the gear lever from P to D, and rev the engine. It takes off...slowly. Hey, I can do better than this with the Honda City. Kind of a letdown, isn't it? That too, a car that looks this good!

But I persist, getting pedal to meet metal, my foot playing Cupid. The tacho was breaking the rules of gravity - 5000 - 6000 - 7000 rpm...and then it happened! A sudden perceptible boost, the FTO shows its sleek rear to your initial negative impression. In what feels like no time, even the speedo teases gravity. Soon, everything around me is a blur, the windows are down and I can hear the metallic whine of the engine, spinning furiously. I can sense each little piece of rubble through those low-profile Mastercraft 205/55 R 16 rubbers, right through the power-assisted steering. The engine is begging for more, but what the hell, the speedo is calibrated to 180 kph, and I was doing just that!

And you know the most shameful thing about this whole episode? I was inside the car and did not have the pleasure of watching it in action. I mean, just look at it. Muscular bulges above the front and rear wheels, a slim front air dam, five-spoke alloys, a Mitsubishi EVO-like spoiler - not a line out of place. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

This FTO GR has a 1998 CC V6 24-valver under that shapely hood that needs to be revved all the way up to 7000 rpm to let loose 180 horses, and 19.5 kgm of torque is yours at just 4000 revs. But the top-end FTO is even better, giving you 200 bhp at 7500 rpm and 20.4 kgm of torque at 6000 rpm. Which leads me to think these Japanese are really crazy. While the Americans believe in increasing the horses in an engine by simply expanding the capacity, the Japanese tune their puny-looking engines to increase output without adding capacity. The consequence is that you have to keep your engines at high revs to rein all the horses at your command. (The very desirable Honda S2000 roadster is a case in point. From just a 2000 CC 16 valve VTEC engine, you get a whopping 240 bhp - but at 8000 rpm! Makes a demanding and a very conscious driver out of you, no?)

It being an four-speed auto 'box, there were no wheel spinning stunts with this car, only zero to 60 kph in 5.1 seconds and from standstill to 100 kph in 11.2 seconds. I would have given my right hand to drive the top-end FTO with a manual gearbox. Anyway, the suspension for all versions of the FTO is standard, McPherson struts at front and multi-link at rear. Both sides get discs to stop the hurtling red missile. In fact, we haven't shown you one of the pictures our lensman took, of the tyres steaming and leaving a pair of black skid marks after I slammed on that broad brake pedal at 120 kph. As I write this, I can actually smell scorched rubber.

Where are the fangs?

The problem with the FTO is that it lacks bite in city driving. What else would you expect, when you get all the power at 7000 rpm - which you don't reach in bumper-to-bumper traffic. And with those low profile tyres and low suspension, every speed bump looks like a small hill.

Being an automatic, you can relax and listen to the music and drive. But there is one awesome feature in the car that should be standard in all types of passenger cars on Indian roads - at the press of a button, you can completely fold the external rear view mirrors, so you can squeeze in tight spots between cars without worrying about clipping them. Do you need any other proof that it's a Japanese car? And yes, being Japanese also means getting around 9 to 10 kpl in city driving and 12 to 14 kpl on the highways.

OK, now you too are interested in the FTO. How can you get it? You can import it legally (with the mandatory 140 per cent duty) if you fulfil any of the following conditions: you own a recognised export house or a hotel with substantial foreign exchange earnings or if you are on your way back to the country after a minimum of five years' stay abroad. Alternatively, catch your favourite imported second-hand car dealer and get him to organise it.

Oh by the way, I haven't told you about the most exciting part yet. Being a manual transmission enthusiast, I kind of liked the clutchless Tiptronic gearbox. There's a gate which runs parallel to the main automatic shift panel, into which you slide the lever. At the top, you have a '+' sign, and below is a '-' sign - all you have to do is gently nudge it to shift through the four cogs, without having to remove your leg off the accelerator pedal. What would I do to give this car the Tiptronic treatment on winding, curvy mountain roads! I am a willing hot-blooded prey for this cold-blooded animal now.

With it’s muscular curves, broad bonnet and pinched tail end, the FTO turned enough heads to win Japanese Car of the year on it’s debut in 1994… and it’s still doing it! What you get A choice of three power plants: the 4 Cyl 1.8 GS (125 bhp), the 2 litre V6 GR/GX (170 bhp) and the powerful 2.0 DOHC V6 24v MIVEC GPX/GPR (196 bhp). Equipment includes central locking, power windows, outside temperature gauge, electric mirror control, digital readout climate control air conditioning and a central rear vision mirror containing useful map lights. The hooded dials and an analogue clock lend a retro touch, contrasting with the futuristic equipment levels and materials…including a scalloped Momo wheel and waffle texture cloth upholstery.
	Driving and owning The insistent "door open" chime orders you inside as you stand looking into the FTO cabin, once you're safely in, the first thing you notice is the well bolstered seats, particularly around the shoulders. Next is the waistline, so high, that you’ll feel closer to the road than you really are. The MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve Timing & Electronic Control) engine is subdued up to 5000rpm, and then an angrier cam takes over, and the engine pulls hard, up to and above the 7500rpm mark. Power is transferred to the front wheels in most examples by the ‘INVECS-II’ adaptive shift gearbox a Tiptronic style box that allows you to select a manual shift mode. Shifting either way, 100 is up in under seven seconds. Minor down sides are that rear passengers have zero leg room and the boot is shallow - tough to get a set of clubs in here.

Importdriver's choice Yeap! We’d have one of these, but it’d have to be the MIVEC engined GPX. The MIVEC engine is said to be reliable, but keep an eye on the gearbox as it’s complex and expensive to repair. Expect to see more of the post 1997 cars around soon with more standard equipment (ABS, twin airbags) and a facelift. We’ll also see the GP Version R lightweight special - the ultimate production FTO… One of those thanks!