Partial eclipse of the old Eclipse

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Mitsubishi’s Eclipse Coupe and soft-top Eclipse Spyder get a revamp for the 2009 model year. The company’s mission was to make them ‘more visible and audible.’ The visual brief extends to restyled front and rear bumpers, while the GT model also gets high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps.

The aural dimension is serviced with a new dual exhaust system for the GT that performs a double whammy of heralding the car’s presence much sooner and juicing horsepower of its 3.8-liter V-6 up from 263 to 265 and torque up from 260 to 262 pounds-feet. A modest rise, but welcome all the same.

An optional Rockford-Fosgate 650-watt audio system should also make itself heard pretty easily. The current tin-top Eclipse starts at $19,999 as a GS model with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, and the current soft-top Eclipse Spyder starts at $25,699 (also in 2.4-liter GS trim). The new models shouldn’t deviate too much from there and they’ll be available some time this summer.

-- Colin Ryan