The Mitsubishi RPM 7000 is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

Cypress, California Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County, California. Its population was 50,151 as of the 2020 census. History Cypress originally was nicknamed "Waterville" due to the preponderance of artesian wells in the area, but was incorporated ...

Design Studio of

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

and exhibited at the 2001 North American International Auto Show. Displayed alongside the

Mitsubishi ASX The Mitsubishi ASX (abbreviation of "Active Sports Crossover") is a subcompact crossover SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. On introduction, it was positioned below the Mitsubishi Outlander, Outlander in Mitsubishi's c ...

, the two vehicles represented the company's vision for sporty, stylish crossover SUVs. However, while the ASX defined Mitsubishi's production plans, the RPM 7000 was a more radical styling exercise and an overt celebration of the company's motorsport heritage."Mitsubishi Motors RPM 7000 has deep roots in rally racing"
Automotive Intelligence The

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

-winning

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, popularly referred to as the "Evo", is a sports sedan and rally car based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official version ...

and the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

-winning

Mitsubishi Pajero The Further information on the Mitsubishi P ...

provided the engine and drivetrain, while chief stylist Mike Desmond acknowledged the influence of

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

in the "nosecone" front

grille Grill or grille may refer to: Food * Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function * Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...

and

hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

. Elements of

rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

and

GT racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand tourers (GT cars) ba ...

were also incorporated. Other unusual elements included the teardrop silhouette, side exit

exhaust pipe An exhaust system is used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine or stove. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes. Depending on the overall syste ...

, and the

suicide door A suicide door is an Car door, automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on Horse-drawn vehicle, horse-drawn carriages but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are less saf ...

s on the passenger side only. Although it was speculated that the RPM could make it to production within two years of its exhibition, these rumours proved unfounded."Rapid people mover or revs per minute?"
WebWombat.com.au, February 2002

References

RPM 7000 {{modern-auto-stub