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The Mitsubishi Magna is a large car built by Mitsubishi Motors of Australia. It was originally a widened version of the 1984 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma, featuring the 2.6 L Astron four-cylinder engine. Prior to that, Mitsubishi, as one of Australia's Big Three automakers, did not field a full-size car to rival the Ford Falcon, although it did build the Chrysler Valiant after it took over Chrysler's Australian operations in 1978. However, to compete in the Australian market, a car's width is very important and the former Chrysler Australia engineers set to work on creating a car that would battle in the old Valiant segment.

The first Magna, the TM series, was available as a sedan and a station wagon and had an identical profile to the smaller Galant. However, it was noticeably wider. The Magna was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1985.

The model was revamped for 1992 as a formal sedan and wagon version of the then-hardtop Mitsubishi Diamante. In Australia, the six-cylinder model was called the Verada, while exported versions to New Zealand wore the Mitsubishi V3000 badge. Some European markets received this model as the Mitsubishi Sigma—no relation to an earlier model that had this name.

In 1996, Mitsubishi released a third-generation model of the Magna, with the same bodyshell as the Diamante. A 2.4L four-cylinder and a 3.0L V6 were initially available in the Magna, while a 3.5L V6 was offered in the upscale Verada (many of which are exported as the Diamante to Japan, the US until recently, and other markets). The four-cylinder Magna was dropped at the end of 1998 due to poor sales. The Magna/Verada was again Wheels’ Car of the Year for 1996.

The 2003 models featured an extensive facelift styled by designer Olivier Boulay, however the facelifted vehicle was not well received by the Australian public and media with the result that sales slowed.

An extended warranty campaign was launched in late 2004 to bolster sales of the Magna/Verada line. This showed some success, with the number of stockpiled vehicles reduced, an important requirement in the lead-up to the launch of the Magna replacement, the Mitsubishi 380.

Production of the Mitsubishi 380, a car based loosely on the US production model Galant with extensive re-engineering for Australian conditions, began in August 2005, bringing to an end the 20 year production of the Magna/Verada line.

External links

• Australian Magna Club
• Mitsubishi Owners Group - Western Australia
• Mitsubishi Magna Encyclopedia

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