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Shinichi Yamamura

Shinichi Yamamura

MitsubishiDevelopment team member

Timeline

  1. 1971
    Galant Coupé FTO 1st generation
    Galant Coupé FTO 1st generation

    1971–1975Development team member

    The "Mini tank", born to fill the gap until the Lancer

    At the end of the 1960s, the market for popular cars was expanding rapidly with the Corolla and Sunny. Mitsubishi had answered the layer one step up with the Galant, but for the layer below it had only the poorly selling Colt 1000F, and its successor, the Lancer, was not ready yet. So, to fill the gap until the Lancer came out, the FTO was planned as a sports model for the mass market, like the Sprinter and Sunny Coupé. Dealers were also asking for "a car that sells just by answering the phone in the office." Built on the Galant with a shorter overall length and wheelbase, the car was called the "Mini tank" within the company. Yamamura, together with Kensaku Kobayashi, also proposed a higher-grade 2000cc version, but it was turned down by the product planning department. After launch both its reputation and its sales were good, and everyone raised a toast to having done its job of filling the gap.

    The "fast notch" born of a short body

    The FTO was a full 315 mm shorter than the Galant, so securing headroom for the rear seats made the rear window stand upright, and as a fastback the trunk opening became small. A proposal for a lift-up rear gate was opposed by the design department over hinge strength and sealing problems. What they arrived at after much struggle was a new "fast notch": a notchback at the window and a fastback in the side pillars. Measurements in the Nagoya Aircraft Works wind tunnel showed it was strong in crosswinds, with little turbulence behind it and low drag. The production engineering department frowned at the unusually shaped pillars, but young staff solved the problem by devising the press dies, and the design review passed on the first try, which was rare.

    Mitsubishi

Profile

A Mitsubishi designer. He designed the Galant Coupé FTO together with Kensaku Kobayashi, Toshihiro Ito and Harada. He later became president and representative director of Cobo Design Co., Ltd.

Translated from Japanese sources.

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