THERE’S A saying that he who has the most toys when he
dies, wins. After driving the Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo, |
would have to say that this is one performance car that
every car enthusiast should expericnce before going to the

Great Beyond.

Equipped with full-time all-
wheel-drive, four-wheel-steering,
four-wheel disc brakes with an an-
ti-lock braking system, and a 300
horsepower, twin turbocharged,
twin intercooled, 3.0 litre V6 with
dual overhead cams and four
valves per cylinder, the Stealth
will zoom ta 100 kim/b in under
six seconds, and has a reported
top speed of over 250 km/h.

Outside of a race track, there
are few places where you can ite-
tually use the Stealth R/T Turbo’s
potential. However, you can cer-
tainly look like you're doing 200
km/h.

Its agressive styling, air
scoops, rear spoiler, and huge 17
inch wheels and tires, make the
Stealth R/T Turbo look fast even
when it’s standing still.

The Stealth is essentially a Mit-
subishi 3000GT 2+ 2 coupe (which
is not sold in Canada), and is
built in Japan. Chrysler did the
exterior styling and Mitsubishi was
responsible for the drivetrain,
chassis and interior.

There are four Stealth models:
base, ES, R/T, and R/T Turbo.
The base model has front-wheel-

normally -aspirated
single overhead cam 3.0 litre V6
with 164 horsepower. ES and R/T
models are also front-wheel-drive,
but vet the dual overhead cam, 24
valve V6 engine without twin tur-

drive and a

A five-speed manual transmis-
sion is the only transmission
available on the R/T Turbo, but a
4 speed automatic is available on
other madets,

The  Stealth’s
wheel-drive system) splits power
45/55 front to rear, bur will
alocate more power to either end
depending on which one loses
traction, AWD offers superior
traction and safety in’ slippery

full-time all-

464 Outside of a race irack, there are few places
where vou can actually use the Stealth R/T
Turbo's potential. However, vou can certainly
look like vou're doing 200 kni‘h... 99

bochargers. This engine has 222
horsepower.

Price as tested: $38,808

Type: two-door. tour prassenget
sports coupe
Layout: transverse front engine’

all-wheel-drive
Horsepower: 200 @ 3500 rpm
Torque: 307 [bs-70 @ 2500 rpen

conditions, especially snow. :
Another important benefit of

Transmission: five-speed manual
Vires: 245/45 ZRY7 sbr

Curb weight: 1721 ke/3793 ths
Wheelbase: 2470 mim. 97.2 in,
Length: 4585 mm. 180.3 in,
Width: 1840 mim/72.4 in,
Height: [245 mm/49.1 in,

rm rar eerste AR

AWD in a car with a turbocharg-
ed engine is that it almost com-
pletely eliminates the problem of

‘torque steer’. fa a front-wheel-
drive car, the sudden suree of
power caused by turbocharger

boost can pall the steering wheel
right or left. In the Stealth. the
AWD distcibuies this power over
all four wheels,

The Stealth'’s  four-wheel-steer-
Ing system is designed to facilitate
high) speed handling and lane
changing. At speeds above 50
kmh, the rear wheels turn slightly
in the same direction as the front
wheels, making turns quicker,
sharper and more controiled.

The interior is well-equipped
with a full complement of useful
analogue gauges, notably a 290
km/h speedomenter, 9000 rpm ta-
chometer, and turbo boost gauge.
There is also a video screen which
displays the automatic climate

Frunk space: 328 LL. tb 6 cu.ft.
Fuel economy: City 13.2) 1/100
km. 21) mpg, Hwy 9.27100 km; 31
mpg.

Warrenty: Basic 3 yrs. 60,000 kim;
Powertrain 3 vise $00,000 kin

Turbo

New model packed with technical wizardry

Photo Greg Wilson

Greg
Wilson

TEST DRIVE

control functions; an
toy, but is it practical?
The multi-adjustable,  articu-
lated front sports seats offer good
support for driver and passenger,
but the small rear bucket seats are
really token accommodations. The
rear seats fold forwards for extra
trunk space, but even then the

liftback trunk is extremely small.
My biggest complaint with the
Stealth is the driving position. 1
found it low and too far forward
in relation to the steering wheel,
even after adjusting the seat. In
See Stviing pare 30

interesting