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Mitsubishi Sapporo was an export name given to the Mitsubishi Galant Λ (Galant Lambda), a two-door hardtop coupé built by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation from 1976 to 1983.
It was introduced in Japan in December 1976. At the time, Mitsubishi had the Celeste, a compact coupé version of the Lancer, and Toyota had its Celica, a coupé version of its Carina. Unusually, the Lambda was not strictly a coupé, but a "personal-luxury" sports car.
It was sold variously as the Mitsubishi Galant Sapporo or simply the Sapporo in Europe and South America. In North America and Puerto Rico, it was the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo. Australia had the Chrysler Scorpion and later the Mitsubishi Scorpion. Asia tended to follow the Japanese naming convention.
It fitted in to an unoccupied spot in the US car market and Chrysler, who had bought into Mitsubishi in May 1971, imported it to fill the niche.
Chrysler and Mitsubishi had an equal voice in the development of the Lambda, creating a good mix between east and west. Safety, comfort, luxury and economy were a few of the keywords in the Lambdas design. The car used various versions of the Mitsubishi Astron engine. Despite this, the car was not overly successful in the United States.
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