Mitsubishi's iconic rally-bred hero is still on the wish list for a comeback, but if it were to return, it would be a hybrid – or, even, electric.
A revival of the rally-inspired Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution sports sedan remains on the car giant’s wish list, and would be all but certain to introduce hybrid or electric power to the nameplate.
Mitsubishi engineering fellow Kaoru Sawase told Australian media the company hasn’t left behind the idea of a Lancer ‘Evo’ reboot, and it has tools at its disposal should it get the green light for showrooms.
“We have a dream, of course, for Lancer Evolution,” Sawase-san said through a translator on the sidelines of the Tokyo motor show. “It's my personal dream.”
Asked if it is feasible to produce a new Evo in the current market, the engineer said: “We have a variety, a range of technologies on-hand.”
Among those technologies is electrified power, including petrol-electric plug-in hybrid systems Mitsubishi has developed in-house for models such as the Outlander SUV, with a four-cylinder petrol engine and dual electric motors.
“Naturally, considering the global [environment], the times, that will be the direction that we will be going,” Sawase-san said of the inclusion of electrification in a future Evo.
Sawase-san is considered the 'godfather' of Mitsubishi's Super All-Wheel Control – or S-AWC – all-wheel-drive system, a trademark of the Evo family, and used in an electrified form in the plug-in hybrid Outlander SUV.
Electric motors can vary torque faster than a petrol engine can build or reduce RPM, adding a new level of capability to a performance car.
Asked if electrification would make a reborn Evo better to drive, Sawase-san said: “I fully understand electrification performance for the vehicle dynamics.”
The Evolution X was based on the final generation of the global-market Lancer, launched in 2008 with a 217kW/366Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged ‘4B11’ four-cylinder engine matched with five-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions.
It was an all-Mitsubishi development, though the engine is loosely related to the 2.0-litre turbo engine in today’s Hyundai i30 N hatch, in components such as the specifications of the engine block.
However, none of these reports have come to fruition, amid financial difficulties for Mitsubishi in the mid-to-late 2010s.
The brand no longer sells the Lancer – one of its best-known nameplates – in any global market, though it has filed to trademark the Lancer Sportback name in the US, which has been linked to a planned rebadged version of the Nissan Leaf electric car.
Mitsubishi has rebooted its Ralliart performance brand – within which the Evolution was the top of the tree – in recent years, but it has focused on appearance packs for overseas models, rather than vehicles with true performance improvements.
Now-departed Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott was insistent on only offering Ralliart products in local showrooms if they are genuine performance models, and was pushing for a high-performance Triton to rival the Ford Ranger Raptor.
Asked about the status of the Ralliart brand, and if a performance model can be expected in showrooms soon, Sawase-san replied: “Sorry, I cannot say anything.”
When pressed on if Ralliart would focus on off-road performance, he said through a translator: “As for the different use of Ralliart brands, [they] have been considered in a broad range.
“But exactly what is going to happen, we aren't ready to talk about it.”
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
