THE DODGE INTREPID CONCEPT SPAWNED SOME AWESOME SPORTS CARS
Despite its name, this forgotten concept ultimately led to the Dodge Stealth and Mitsubishi 3000GT.
Chrysler was on a roll in the 1980s. Dangerously close to bankruptcy, the company turned things around by 1983 and went on to buy AMC, Jeep, and Lamborghini, while launching an entirely new vehicle segment with the minivan—all in the span of a few years.
Chrysler also had the aptly named Diamond Star Motors, a partnership with Mitsubishi that led to some of the most iconic performance cars of the 1990s. And one of them originated—at least in part—from the 1988 Dodge Intrepid concept.
It’s appropriate, then, that the Intrepid concept was built on a modified version of the Dodge Daytona’s G-body platform. The 95.4-inch wheelbase was a couple of inches shorter than the Daytona, and at 45.6 inches tall, it was noticeably lower to the ground. It rode on staggered directional wheels: 16-inch rims with 205/55-series tires in front and 17 inchers at the back wearing 245/50s. It incorporated four-wheel independent suspension, something rarely seen on American performance cars of the era.
The concept looked nothing like the Daytona on the outside. Dodge’s original press release called the Intrepid a “concept for tomorrow’s Dodge,” but nobody at the time realized just how true that was. When the Dodge Stealth production car debuted a few years later, it largely mirrored the concept’s overall design.
In particular, the Stealth’s wide, low front clip with rectangular driving lamps, pop-up headlights, and triangular turn signals were virtually identical. At the back, the flat trunk with notched taillights came from the concept. Even the side vents closely resemble those from the Intrepid, albeit toned down since the Stealth’s V-6 engine, be it naturally aspirated or twin-turbocharged, was in front.
Dodge’s original press release called the Intrepid a 'concept for tomorrow’s Dodge,' but nobody at the time realized just how true that was.
The other part of this story is, of course, the Mitsubishi 3000GT. The Stealth and 3000GT were co-developed by Chrysler and Mitsubishi, with the underpinnings and powertrain coming from Mitsubishi. The Intrepid concept predated the Mitsubishi HSX concept—essentially a near-production 3000GT—by a couple of years. Both production cars have distinctive styling, but the Intrepid influenced Mitsubishi’s styling as well, especially at the front and on the doors, which have Intrepid-esque scallops down low that lead into the side vents.
The show floor at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) was crowded with eye-turning cars back in 1987, the amazing Oldsmobile Aerotech concept being among them. The Intrepid concept became lost in the crowd and, in the decades since, largely forgotten despite its role in bringing two 1990s performance icons to life.
We don’t know what ultimately happened to this sleek concept, and sadly, neither does Dodge. That likely means it was crushed at some point, an unfortunate but all-too-common end for concept cars like this.
More Concepts You Forgot
2025-02-12T14:22:55Z