The Colt was initially the Mitsubishi Mirage, re-branded and sold abroad, however in 2003 the first JDM Colt rolled off the production lines.

Mitsubishi Mirage

The Mirage was a line of subcompact cars produced between 1978 and 2002.The 5th. gen. was launched in 1995, and was named the CE. Sold as either a two-door coupe, or a four-door sedan, but by 2003, the only Mirage sold in Japan was the coupe.

Because of Mitsubishis financial trouble, the Mirage was kept in production until 2003. Most countries replaced the Mirage with the Mitsubishi Colt. The Mirage was available with either 1.5L or 1.8L straight-4 engine.

Mitsubishi Colt

2003 saw the release of the JDM Colt, based on the Smart Forfour platform. Launched in Europe in 2004, the Colts were available in 3 multi-point injection variants, the 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, and a turbo charged 1.5. The latter of these were a 4G15 block, which could output 147 hp and 155 lb/ft (210 N/m). MIVEC variable valve timing was also implemented to increase the power, increasing it from 109 hp (81 kW) on the 1.5 MPI model.

In 2004 the Colt Plus was released, it was a elongated version of the standard Colt. The Colt Plus features the 4A91 MIVEC engine instead of the 4G15 MIVEC engine. A coupe cabriolet version has been on sale since 2005, called the Colt CZC, featuring a retractable hard-top. A Ralliart version was released in '06, the Colt RALLIART Version-R with a 154 PS (152 hp/113 kW) 4G15 engine, featuring MIVEC variable valve timing and turbocharger, in manual or CVT, and featuring a stiffer chassis, bodykit, and Recaro bucket seats.

With gas prices on the rise, Japan has seen the trend of mini's becoming a major tuning base for today's enthusiasts. Both Supercharger and Turbocharger kits have been developed for a variety of minis as well as selections of aero, exhaust, and suspension parts by many major and minor brands in the JDM tuning industry. The Mitsubishi Colt has a variety of parts available for it to be a faster, sharper handling city cruiser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Mirage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Colt