Five displacement variants were produced from 1986 to 2021, with both SOHC and DOHC, naturally aspirated and turbo charged layouts.

The staple of their high-end sedans, it was given twin-turbos for the Mitsubishi GTO, and became the most powerful car ever built by the company at the time.

The 6G71 engine was also converted to run on LPG, a version which was only available to the Debonair and mainly intended for commercial (taxi) use.

The DOHC 24-valve was used in the Mitsubishi Debonair, 3000GT, and Dodge Stealth producing 222 hp (166 kW; 225 PS) and 205 lb⋅ft (278 N⋅m) of torque with a 10.0:1 compression ratio in naturally aspirated form, and as much as 320 hp (239 kW; 324 PS) and 315 lb⋅ft (427 N⋅m) of torque in turbocharged form.

The engine has low-profile cast aluminum heads which help it to fit into compact engine bays, while pent-roof combustion chambers increase efficiency and make room for four valves per cylinder, arranged in a cross-flow pattern with a "tumble" intake port for both strong breathing and low emissions.

For the MIVEC, only available in the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, the output is 209 kW (284 PS; 280 hp) at 6,000 and 324 N⋅m (239 lb⋅ft) at 4,500 rpm.

The gasoline direct injection version of the 6G74 was launched in April 1997 as the first GDI V6 engine ever produced.

It differed from the basic 6G74 in many ways apart from its unique fuel injection system—it had a crown-curved rather than flat piston head, upright intake ports rather than angled, and a 10.4:1 rather than a 10.0:1 compression ratio.