This Quadtec-badged Magna made local history — it was the first mass-built all-wheel-drive passenger car ever built in Australia, after a AU$10 million development program.
Median 197 hp across 305 similar cars
Lead trim: Magna / Verada AWD 3.5 V6 (207 hp) · up to 213 hp
Mitsubishi Magna AWD Quadtec2002–2005
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Mitsubishi Magna AWD Quadtec yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThis Quadtec-badged Magna made local history — it was the first mass-built all-wheel-drive passenger car ever built in Australia, after a AU$10 million development program.
By far the biggest highlight of the TJ Series 2 was the sedan-only Magna/Verada AWD range, introduced in December 2002 with Mitsubishi's locally developed "Quadtec" all-wheel drive (a $10 million development), making MMAL the first Australian maker of a mass-built AWD passenger car (excluding the XY Falcon-based ute of the 1970s). It was available only as a five-speed automatic: the Magna AWD and Verada AWD shared a 154 kW (207 hp) / 310 N·m (229 lb·ft) engine and the Sports AWD had a 159 kW (213 hp) / 318 N·m (235 lb·ft) version — down on the equivalent FWD cars because of structural revisions restricting the Sports' exhaust and up to 140 kg of extra AWD hardware — with improved handling but lower performance and fuel economy; the TL VR-X AWD was limited to 16-inch wheels. Sales projections of 300 a month proved optimistic (150 a month by August 2003, mostly fleets and rental agencies including the NSW and New Zealand Police), and an A$500,000 advertising campaign showing a Magna AWD out-cornering a VY Commodore and BA Falcon drew complaints and a finding against MMAL by the Advertising Standards Board; a TL Magna AWD won the Australian Cup class of the 2004 Australian Rally Championship on debut, as the only car entered.
Collectors Spotted in the Mitsubishi Magna Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mitsubishi Magna yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magna / Verada AWD 3.5 V6 (207 hp) | 2002–2005 | 3.5 L V6 | 207 hp | 229 lb-ft | — | AWD | — | — |
| Magna Sports / VR AWD 3.5 V6 (213 hp) | 2002–2005 | 3.5 L V6 | 213 hp | 235 lb-ft | — | AWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The 2004 facelift quietly gave Australia's Verada larger "US-spec" bumpers — a transpacific engineering footnote on a car most Australians assumed was built purely for their own roads.
The 2003 Magna TL's redesign cost over A$70 million — and A$2 million of that went to its new headlights alone.
The Magna Ralliart's steering wheel was the standard Magna item underneath — but it was sent to Italy to be leather-wrapped in black and red by MOMO.
This Quadtec-badged Magna made local history — it was the first mass-built all-wheel-drive passenger car ever built in Australia, after a AU$10 million development program.
A humble family Magna went racing: in 2001 a Magna TJ Sports won its class at Bathurst, while a V8-powered rear-drive Magna separately ran in Australia's Super Touring championship.
Mitsubishi's VR-X made its extra power with barely any engine changes — just valve timing tweaks and a free-flowing exhaust, enough for class-leading pace among Australian sport sedans.
The TH Magna quietly set an Australian first: the first locally-built car with four-channel ABS and electronic brake-force distribution.
The TF Magna Sports was the first Australian-built car ever to offer a manual-shifting Tiptronic automatic — push forward to upshift, pull back to downshift.
A mid-90s family sedan still holds the record: the TE Magna's 0.28 drag coefficient beats every Commodore and Falcon Australia ever built, decades later included.
Every Magna/Verada wagon sold anywhere in the world under the Diamante or Sigma badge was built in Australia — for years, Australia was the only source on the planet.
Mitsubishi built exactly 1,000 Magna TP Grand Tourers in 1990 — split with almost comic precision into 500 white, 250 burgundy and 250 "Riviera Blue."
The TN wagon wasn't a global platform afterthought — Mitsubishi's Australian arm engineered and built it entirely Down Under, broadening the Magna's appeal from day one.
To satisfy Australians' taste for bigger cars, Mitsubishi literally sliced open the Japanese Galant and spliced in an extra 65mm of width to create the Magna.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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