A bucket list car that probably won’t come to fruition for me is a 1978-83 Dodge Challenger…yeah, the Mitsubishi-built one that is perfect for trolling all-Mopar shows with. Ever since I rode in one when I was a kid (the guy who my grandfather paid to teach me Morse code had a black five-speed version) I’ve always thought they were just a little bit cool. The venom that gets spewed when the whole “yes, there were Challengers built then” deal goes down is simply additional whipped cream on top of the sundae. I like the shape, like the size, and think that one with a swapped-in modern Hemi would be nothing short of a ball.
This is a Mitsubishi Sigma, a kissing cousin that was sold in Australia. Alongside the two-door Chrysler/Mitsubishi Scorpion (the name depends on whether or not the car was made before the MML buyout of Chrysler Australia), the Sigma was a commonplace car that pretty much matched what we got: Mitsu four-cylinders, automatics and five-speeds, and not much else worth mentioning, really. Unlike my dream machine, this one is more Chad’s flavor, with a 5.7L LS swap. But I’m not holding that against Jason Waye’s car at all…in fact, this car pops up regularly on Aussie-sourced videos, on the strip, on the street, and here, at the first Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge event. It does it all, and it does it well. I like it a lot.
