Junkyard Gem: 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder

A 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, final model year for the DSM-built Eclipse, found in a Colorado wrecking yard.

When Chrysler and Mitsubishi partnered to establish the Diamond-Star Motors plant in Illinois, the first cars built at that facility were 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipses along with their Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser twins. The Eclipse went through four generations, with 2012 as the final model year. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of the very last Eclipses, found in a Denver car graveyard recently.

It was substantially larger than the early Eclipses, scaling in at nearly 3,500 pounds.

This car is a base-grade GS with automatic transmission, and its VIN indicates that it was built for fleet sale. This would have been a fun rental car, at least compared to the Dodge Nitros and Kia Rios that stocked rental fleets in the early 2010s.

The MSRP was $27,999, or about $38,581 in 2024 dollars.

Rare? Very. Valuable? No.

You could get the Eclipse Spyder with a 650-watt sound system. Driven to thrill.

 

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