Mitsubishi Lancer Evo XI - New and Future Cars If there is to be another Evo, it will probably have some sort of hybrid option, which is an infinitely better scenario than having no Evo at all.
By Sam Mitani
June 14, 2010
With the launch of the Outlander Sport compact crossover as well as the electric i-MiEV, it seems Mitsubishi Motors is intent on adopting a green image. Word from Japan is that the company is slowly scrapping its sporty-car program in favor of more economical products.
The company’s in-house tuner, Ralliart, has been all but shut down, while plans for the next-generation Lancer Evolution have allegedly been put on hold. However, an inside source tells us that death reports of the next-generation Evo are premature. He informed us that there are still a few people within Mitsubishi who don’t want to see the company’s image car go away, and that development is underway on a plug-in hybrid version of the high-performance sports sedan.
“This way, it will conform to the company’s overall strategic plan of building fuel-efficient cars,” he says. “Yet it will have all the performance that the current Lancer Evo possesses.”
Although nothing is set in stone, it seems that at this point if there is to be another Evo, it will probably have some sort of hybrid option, which is an infinitely better scenario than having no Evo at all. And from what we’ve been told, the new car won’t be a slouch at the test track, either.
2004 SG Model A PearlBlackObsidian (RIP) 2008 SG Model D BlueRallyWorld
"When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story." -Barney Stinson
"Nothing shuts my pie-hole but pie." -Shawn Spencer
It's a very good looking car, but I really hope they keep the turbo. It's just part of the car. It seems they are much more inclined to jump on new technologies than Subaru (Active diffs -> Paddle tranny -> Electric hybrid).
I'm just hoping Subaru puts in a variable geometry turbo on the next STI
Sabre (Julian) 92.5% Stock 04 STI
Good choice putting $4,000 rims on your 1990 Honda Civic. That's like Betty White going out and getting her tits done.
I'm scared to death of being one of those older gentlemen clinging to antiquated technologies. I'm not quite there yet in years, but I don't wanna be the stubborn, crotchety old man who can't accept a hybrid future. I haven't fully accepted DSG, so give me some more time with that idea before making me swallow a hybrid sports car, please!
slightly off topic, but i really liked the work mitsu did with the Evo MIEV a while back. At first i was a bit apprehensive about hybrid/electric concepts, but [independent wheel control + imagine the awesomely ridiculous crazy Super AWD computer potential (i've coined this IMARC-SAWD-C)] minus weight of engine/drivetrain/transmission was very attractive. at the flip of a switch you could turn off the two front wheels and go into super drift mode, with all the insta-torque capabilities that an electric motor would provide (Ok, maybe i'm smoking a pipe dream here).
I agree that hybrid and sports car don't go in the same sentence, but something like the all-electric tesla roadster is proof that performance and non-petrol can exist!
It does look good though
No way, the Evo 6 was the pinnacle of rally replica. The X and XI are rally by association only - They are designed for the road. :p
I like the ideas of AWD systems with one electric regenerative braking differential and one direct drive diff a-la Porsche GT3 hybrid.
I'm not totally sold on a 1-gear car yet, where there is no mechanical connection to the wheels whatsoever. I'm all about saving that kinetic energy, but CVTs in general leave me wanting, even if they are faster in some specification.
GaToR wrote:I like the ideas of AWD systems with one electric regenerative braking differential and one direct drive diff a-la Porsche GT3 hybrid.
I'm not totally sold on a 1-gear car yet, where there is no mechanical connection to the wheels whatsoever. I'm all about saving that kinetic energy, but CVTs in general leave me wanting, even if they are faster in some specification.
You ever notice how many scooters you see on the road? CVT's all of them. Now they're not 450hp monster CVT's but the technology has come a long way. Porsche put an 80hp electric motor on each of the front wheels, and outstanding motor out back that (if I recall correctly) charges a flywheel so that when the car is not in its powerband it can actually use the flywheel to pull the engine up into its powerband and the front wheels can yank it around turns. I think I'm probably the only person here who doesn't like all-wheel-drive, but that Porsche is one hell of a design, and Mitsubishi would do well to copy the electrics on the wheels and a powerful motor to turn up the juice. CVT used to worry me a lot, but not anymore.
Your's truly, first person to codrive a hybrid rallycar in N America.
Was kinda odd when Toyota would tell us not to wreak the car racing it because they wanted to show it in international car shows the following weekend.
Last edited by prorallycodriver on Fri Oct 08, 2010 11:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Prius interior was pretty much stock except for racing seats, harnesses, rollcage, momo steering wheel, rally odo computer, map light, some extra toggle switches for rally lights, and stripped out carpet and sound deadening. It ran in production class.
Sabre (Julian) 92.5% Stock 04 STI
Good choice putting $4,000 rims on your 1990 Honda Civic. That's like Betty White going out and getting her tits done.
Boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants oh and www.annadventure.com <---- &
The Lancer Evolution X, Eusegi told me, will be the last Evo. “There is still a demand [for the car],” he said, “but we must stop.” Eyebrow up.
“Our influence now is EV technology,” Eusegi said, adding that the decision was a “policy change”.
It seems Mitsubishi, which is going to introduce eight full electric or hybrid cars by 2015, has decided its image is about lowering CO2, not making lurid replicas of rally cars that don’t go top-level rallying any more.
Eusegi said that customers would find it “easier to understand” what Mitsubishi was about if it was no longer in this motorsport-inspired market.
He seemed to put the rumoured diesel hybrid Evo replacement to bed, too. So the X will be the last Evolution model? “Yes. Maybe the world can change, and maybe someday we can do a motor race by electric vehicles,” said Eusegi. “Maybe then we can enter the market again.”
Until then, prepare yourselves for the end of an era.
I'm sorry, but if you are saying that you are changing your business rep from motorsports to "Green", then you can't kill a diesel hybrid option on the platform you are cutting. That is just like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Maybe it sounds better in Japanese?
Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears
Very sad to hear... and almost seems irresponsible of Mitsu.
Sabre (Julian) 92.5% Stock 04 STI
Good choice putting $4,000 rims on your 1990 Honda Civic. That's like Betty White going out and getting her tits done.
& 
