Mitsubishi weighs a 'different direction' for the Lancer Evolution

The current generation of Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s Lancer Evolution high-performance sedan appears be its last as the automaker works to refashion itself as a leader in electrified vehicles.

Mitsubishi is considering a "different direction" for its rally-inspired, all-wheel-drive sport sedan as it prepares to launch eight electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles globally by 2015.

The plan is fueled in part by a need to meet tougher global fuel economy and emissions regulations. A performance car such as the Evolution is out of line with that plan, analysts say.

The Evolution X will be sold through 2013, but "as for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture," Mitsubishi said in a statement.

"MMC has kept the Lancer Evolution sedan evolving as the brand's highest performing model in the global market," Mitsubishi said. "However, as the market's needs and demands change, MMC is considering not advancing the Lancer Evolution concept in the same way as before, but to find a different direction for the Lancer Evolution model to evolve. The new direction, the technologies involved, and corresponding products will be disclosed in due course."

Mitsubishi sold 314 Lancer Evolutions in the United States during the first two months of 2011, an 18 percent gain from the same period last year.

Shinichi Kurihara, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America and the development chief behind the previous four generations of the Lancer Evolution, said recently that a "go-fast" car will still be part of Mitsubishi's DNA.

"I think that kind of duality--eco-friendly and high performance--is very important for us, but at this moment Mitsubishi doesn't have any kind of future answer," Kurihara said in a recent interview.

Kurihara hinted that a future Mitsubishi performance car could be a pure EV.

Batteries embedded in the bottom of an EV create a low center of gravity and electric motors mounted nearer to a car's middle distribute weight more evenly between the front and rear wheels. The result could be a vehicle more akin to a mid-engine mounted sports car, Kurihara said.

"That kind of layout--lower center of gravity, front and rear weight distribution--is almost 50-50," Kurihara said. "If we could get that kind of a [next-generation] battery ... that could be that high-performance vehicle."

By Ryan Beene- Automotive News