One of the luckier and perhaps more skilled drivers in a modded Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VIII captured some of the accidents on his dashboard camera when his car stepped on black ice and almost lost complete control of the AWD model - at which point, he repeatedly makes use the "F" word, hence the NSFW warning.
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But let's take it from the beginning. The hybrid part of the story is not just another one of those crazy rumors that pop up on the net. In fact, it is as official as it gets since it comes from the mouth of Mitsubishi president, Osamu Masuko.
Masuko revealed to British magazine Autocar that the next generation of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo will ditch the regular 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit, which has become a mainstay of the 10 previous versions, in favor of a hybrid powertrain.
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Today, Mitsubishi released the first details on its next generation 1.8-liter gasoline engine codenamed "4J10" that incorporates a new version of the company's MIVEC variable valve timing system as well as the introductions of a new Auto Stop & Go (AS&G) idle-stop technology.
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The company started with a Lancer EVO 9 with just 1,500 miles on the odo and stripped it down to the bare bones. The body shell of a London Taxi Cab was then dropped on top creating the most innocent EVO we have ever seen to date. Follow the jump to watch it in some awe-inspiring donut action.
So here’s the scoop (according to the posters): some students at Mech-Tech College in Ponce, Puerto Rico were putting a Lancer Evolution VII through its paces on the school’s dyno, when disaster struck. Everything seems normal until 16 seconds in, when the Lancer careens to the left and slides off. Of course, it was all captured on video for our edification.
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The new model is the result of an OEM collaboration (the word "rebadge" sounds nastier...) between PROTON and Mitsubishi Japan, the latter providing the mechanical and design basis and the former tweaking the model for the Malaysian market.
Among those changes are the signature Proton grille and -according to the Malaysian company- the incorporation of Lotus DNA in the Inspira's ride and handling.
For those of you fooled by the *cough* deceptive *cough* restyling Proton has done, the Inspira (from the Bahasa Malaysia word 'Inspirasi' which means 'Inspiration') is based on the current generation Mitsubishi Lancer.
The small car would possibly be offered here in 2012 (it's said to have sub-1.5 liter 3-cylinder engine), but it's hard to believe a small efficient car (and the Lancer family) could be enough to justify keeping the brand here. There's light on the horizon, but more on that in a bit.
The British always liked to fettle around with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the tenth generation model is no exception. Now they have come up with yet another higher-power version of the Lancer EVO X that goes by the name FQ-330 SST. This F....g Quick (honestly, that's what it stands for) combines the upgraded FQ-330 engine to the 6-speed Twin-Clutch Sports Shift Transmission. Under the hood, the 2.0-liter turbo engine benefits from a bevy of improvements.
These include an ECU re-map along with the addition of a high performance exhaust and downpipe, an intercooler piping kit, racing suction pipe, and upgraded CAT, all of which help deliver an additional 36 bhp and 22 lb ft over the FQ-300 SST, for a total output of 329bhp at 6,500 rpm and 437Nm (322-lbs/ft) at 3,500 rpm.
The result is a 0 to 100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 4.4 seconds, or 0.3 seconds faster than the FQ-300 SST, and a top speed of 250 km/h or 155mph.
In the UK, the FQ-330 SST is available immediately for order. Buyers can choose among four different colors - Cool Silver (M), Orient Red (M), Lightning Blue (P) and Phantom Black (P), all of which are included in the basic price of £35,999, which is £3,000 more than the standard FQ-300 STT variant.
| FQ-300 SST | FQ-330 SST |
Max. output (bhp) / rpm) | 295 / 6500 | 329 / 6500 |
Max. torque (Nm (lb ft) / rpm) | 407 (300) / 3500 | 437 (322) / 3500 |
0-62 mph (secs) | 4.7 | 4.4 |
Max. Speed (mph (kph) | 155 (250) | 155 (250) |
Price | £32,999 | £35,999 |
Standard equipment:
One of the lesser -if at all- known Chinese automakers, Southeast Motor, has announced that it will reveal the V3 Lingyue hatchback at 2009 Shanghai auto show next week. Like the sedan variant of the V3 Lingyue that was introduced in China in late 2008, the hatchback model is based on a platform of a previous generation Mitsubishi Lancer with power provided by a 1.5-liter MIVEC four-cylinder engine that was fine-tuned for the Chinese market by the firm's partner, Mitsubishi Motors.
The European organization for the assessment of vehicle safety has published the first results under its updated rating system. Up until now, Euro NCAP made three separate ratings available for each vehicle, but with the new system there's an overall rating for every car covering Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Pedestrian Protection and a new area of assessment, Safety Assist which takes into account systems such as electronic stability control (ESC) and seat belt reminders.Of the six cars tested under the new ratings system, four managed to achieve Euro NCAP's maximum award of five stars: the Mazda 6, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Avensis and Toyota iQ. Citroen's C3 Picasso minivan and the Subaru Impreza were both awarded four stars.
According to Euro NCAP, with the exception of the Subaru Impreza, all the other cars failed to impress on pedestrian protection.
After the announcement of the results, Mitsubishi and Subaru both said that they would change their ESC (electronic stability control) fitment policies for the Lancer and Impreza, as variants of these models without optional ESC were offered in some Euroepan countries.
Euro NCAP's new rating scheme requires all safety equipment, including ESC, to be standard on 85% of volume sales and at least optionally available on every variant.
It's official; Mitsubishi has confirmed that the all-new five-door Lancer Sportback will arrive in U.S. dealerships this summer as a 2010 model year. Though one would expect the opposite, the 5-door Sportback's overall length is actually slightly longer than the Lancer four-door sedan. The Sportback will be offered in the States in two trims, the GTS model fitted with a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 168-hp, mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed CVT automatic transmission, and the one that most of us are interested in, the Ralliart version powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine pumping out 237-hp and 253 lb.-ft. of torque.
The Lancer Sportback Ralliart will come with the EVO's all-wheel control (AWC) with Active Center Differential (ACD) and six-speed Twin Clutch-Sportronic Shift Transmission (TC-SST). Pricing and detailed information on the U.S.-spec Lancer Sportback will be announced nearer to its summer on-sale date.
In Europe, Mitsubishi has no problem being a tad provocative when it comes to getting the attention of buyers. As the company itself admits, even its vehicle names have turned a few heads, such as the 'FQ' badges to be found on the 'F***ing Quick' Lancer Evolution range. Now, Mitsubishi has readied a new spicy and in our opinion, humorous TV advert for the Lancer, called "Bees and Birds." The ad is due to air in the UK on Monday 9th February.According to Mitsubishi, Clearcast, the company that is responsible for the pre-transmission examination and clearance of UK TV advertisements, has not approved the ad to be shown on TV before 9 o'clock. It goes without saying that Mitsubishi's intention was to create a bit of a buzz with the advert.
Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi's Director of Sales and Marketing said that, "Clearcast thought that the light-hearted innuendo throughout the ad could be seen as inappropriate – especially for younger viewers. We are happy to have the TV ad shown after the 9 o'clock watershed."
The Japanese market Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback will make its domestic debut at the bi-annual Tokyo Motor Week to be held in early November. In Japan and with the exception of the EVO X that retains the Lancer badge, Mitsubishi has chosen the name Galant Fortis for both the 4-door sedan and 5-door Sportback variants of the Lancer. -Continued The most alluring version of the new Galant Fortis Sportback is of course the Ralliart pictured above that get's the EVO X's sophisticated AWD system as well as its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine detuned to 240HP. Check out our mega gallery of the Sportback by clicking here.
Less than a week before the new Lancer Sportback and its 240HP Ralliart sibling make their world debut at the Mondial De L’Automobile in Paris, Mitsubishi released a full set of images of both versions of the 5door Lancer hatchback or as we prefer to call it for apparent aesthetic reasons, hunchback. Hit the jump to check out our high-resolution image gallery or click here to read the initial details on the new Lancer Sportback range. -Continued2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart 240HP 2.0-liter Turbo
2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
