We’re suckers for good vintage rally footage, especially when the car is an OG Mitsubishi Lancer 1600GSR conquering the Safari Rally. This video has it all — big air jumps, wheels sending plumes of river water skyward, a herd of giraffes galloping alongside the car. Unfortunately, it also has the most comically terrible music we’ve ever heard in a vintage rallying video.
Funnily enough, the ill-fitting tunes weren’t selected by a random YouTuber or a piracy bot. This is an official Mitsubishi Motors production, meaning an actual human employee at the company had to look at grainy clips from 1974 and think, “You know what would go well with one of our most triumphant rallying accomplishments? Some hard-hitting techno from a mid-90s nightclub.” Then the soundtrack would’ve had to be presumably approved by that person’s boss. Even the club disco of the 70s would’ve seemed weird, but at least it would’ve been period correct. This is just bizarre.
BPM notwithstanding, the footage is very excellent. Mitsubishi added only rudimentary safety equipment to its Lancer 1600GSR and sent it into one of the most punishing motorsports events in the world. You can see the unforgiving terrain the Lancer was forced to deal with in the video, as well as the laughably unsafe fuel stops that kept it going for over 3,700 miles of non-roads. The Lancer immediately became a legend, with locals giving it the nickname “King of Cars.” It was a seminal event in Mitsubishi history, awarding Mitsubishi its first WRC victory and sealing the Lancer name in company lore. And now, thanks to a bored intern, you can enjoy this historical moment while pretending you’re at a rave.
It’s definitely an odd combination of 70s footage with 90s music but the music isn’t terrible. Maybe that’s just my inner child of the 90s bias, haha.
There’s a reason Mitsubishi 2023 isn’t Mitsubishi 1974. Or 1984. Or 1994. Or 2004. Or 2014… And that music choice has a lot to do with it. 🙂
But dammit, now you’ve got me jones-ing for a ’74 Lancer (or Dodge Colt) and justifying to myself how it’d be the perfect car for all of my needs. Once I paint the hood satin black, of course.
Do it. They’re still relatively affordable because they’re caught in that limbo where they’re not quite as sought after by Nissan, Toyota, Mazda and Honda enthusiasts, while the Mopar guys don’t consider them real Dodges. And they don’t seem to have caught fire at auctions yet.
Google the “Top Hits of 1974” and you’ll find The Streak, Spider and Snakes, Jungle Boogie and a host of forgettable favorites. Not much there!
“Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees could have worked for the video.
Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’
And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive
Hey What music should we put in as filler for this 70s Lancer rally footage?
“Aah just throw down the track from our British-market 90s FTO commercial”