For this week’s WTF Friday I want you to read the title, and then read it once more. No there are not any typos in that title someone actually did put a 4GC3 (aka Mitsubishi Eclipse or Eagle Talon depending on your locale) into a Chevrolet Beretta.
The Beretta was a weird car, kind of like the Cavalier/Sunfires bigger brother whose glory days are long since passed, but every once and awhile still does something kind of neat.
Berettas are also a car I have not seen on the road in a long time, nor have I heard anyone really mention them. That’s what made me chuckle when I saw one come up on Kijiji.
But then I saw the inter-cooler piping and my interest was piqued.
There were a number of weird turbo cars in that era (mostly Mopars) but the Beretta was certainly not one of them. Intrigued I clicked through the gallery and saw the photo below.
Wait, what? I must admit at this point I was surprised and a little annoyed. Surprised by the swap, annoyed by how nonchalantly the owner mentioned it and how few pictures there were in the for sale ad. Was I being tricked? I needed to know more.
Enter, once again and for the second week in a row, Car Domain.
There I found photos of the car in its previous guise. Early 2000s by the looks of things, dead in the middle of The Fast and The Furious era.
Vinyl overload aside the Car Domain page did reveal a better shot of the engine bay.
Such a weird combination and yet, it looks to be done pretty well. It’s no shaved bay or anything but that can be overlooked considering its a turbo Mitsubishi motor in what was a naturally aspirated Chevrolet.
There was even a dyno sheet on the CD page. Considering that many swapped cars at shows today barley putt on and off trailers having a dyno sheet speaks volumes of the builders follow through.
After eleven years of storage the owner is now ready to let the car go for an undisclosed price. A bit of updating and this car could be a unique, yet very bizarre sleeper.
I genuinely mean it when I say I hope it goes to a good home.
Thanks for the write up, I am the owner.
I am the new owner if this car. Getting new up graded everything.
Steven, keep us posted.