Envisioned as a luxury vehicle for high echelon government officials and top executives, the Model A had to be reliable, comfortable, and a showcase of Japanese craftsmanship.

Based on the Fiat Tipo 3, it was a four-door seven-seat sedan using a town car body style powered by a front-mounted 26 kW (35 hp) 2.8-litre straight-4 engine driving the rear wheels, and was capable of speeds up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).

Because it was expensive to produce—it was built entirely by hand, with the interior rear compartment furnished with lacquered white cypress—it could not compete with cheaper American and European competition, and Mitsubishi halted production after four years.

Concentrating instead on its successful Fuso commercial vehicles, the Model A would be the company's last passenger car until the Mitsubishi 500 of 1960.

At Mitsubishi's Auto Gallery (a museum of the company's most historically significant vehicles, established at their R&D Center in Okazaki in 1989) there is a replica on display, assembled in 1972 using materials of the time.