William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

December 14, 2013

A new report from Motor Trend says the next Lancer Evolution will be much different than the one we currently have.

The report says that Mitsubishi is working on a new plug-in hybrid drivetrain and platform that will consist of electric motors in the front and back for the all-wheel drive system, a battery pack mounted under the rear seats, and a gas engine. Sources close to project say engineers are considering a 1.1L inline-three turbocharged engine with 135 horsepower.

Because of this new platform, Mitsubishi is considering changing the name for the next Lancer Evolution.

Source: Motor Trend

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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A poor bet.

Interesting. I wonder what arrangement hybrid this will be.

evo buyers are not interested in extreme fuel economy nor do they care for zero emissions from a plug-in. Buyers of that sort of car -- the Tesla buyers -- are not interested in a Kamikaze AWD rally car for the streets. Trackday and/or real rally folks can't use a plug-in which runs out of juice or draws down its battery to limp mode a third of the way through the course -- that is if class rules even allow them to race it at all. Mitsu executives need to get their heads examined.

I'm assuming this is Mitsubishi's attempt to exit America with a bang, instead of a whimper like Suzuki. How else can anyone explain such a dumb idea?

The Evo is a balls-to-the-wall performance machine - its formula is almost sacred - and that got a lot of people my age into cars in the first place. The Evo is why Mitsubishi is even on the automotive map. It's a halo car. Why change it? I'm sure this plug-in car will be cool, but if it isn't, it'll likely kill the entire brand.

Edited December 15, 201312 yr by FAPTurbo

'Devo' sounds like it would be a more fitting name, as is it devolving into a lesser form.

Edited December 15, 201312 yr by Cubical-aka-Moltar