Mitsubishi kills off EVO. Announces replacement

[VenomInside]

The Mitsubishi Evo Is Dead - Hybrid Crossover Will Replace It - Road & Track

Autocar has confirmed the rumor no one ever wanted to hear come true: the Mitsubishi Evo is dead. Kanenori Okamoto, managing executive officer at Mitsubishi, said that the Evolution will cease to exist as the tarmac-clawing four-door we all know and love. As if we needed another reason to drink at our desks.


Mitsubishi

Autocar quotes Okamato as saying, “It will be replaced in spirit by an SUV with high performance.” By “SUV” he clearly means crossover, and Mitsubishi has not been shy about going all in on that segment as it maps out its future lineup. Last year in Tokyo, they showed off a trio of the things, one of which, the XR-PHEV, is the most likely candidate for the next-generation Evo (or whatever it winds up being called).

READ MORE: Watch Mitsubishi's electric racer obliterate a Pikes Peak record

There is some good news. Mitsubishi says the successor will borrow inspiration from the company’s electric Pikes Peak hillclimb racer and feature the Super All Wheel Control system designed for the Evo X. Despite it being a grizzled old man compared to the spanky new Subaru WRX and STI, it's still a joyful thing to drive hard.


Now, the conventional wisdom is that the Concept XR-PHEV (above), previews the styling of the next-generation Outlander Sport. This week in Paris, Mitsubishi doubled down on that front-end language with the Outlander PHEV Concept-S, which is basically a current-gen PHEV Outlander wearing the new-look face. So, the matter of styling language appears to be settled.

There's good reason to believe that the next Outlander Sport will, in turn become the basis for the new performance halo. How come? Mitsubishi's Vision Gran Turismo car is also the aforementioned XR-PHEV, albeit a slammed and deliciously box-flared version of it:


No one's gonna complain if something in that vein becomes the Mitsu performance flagship, especially if meets or exceeds the standards set by the Evo X. What you're seeing there is way more hot hatch than soccer-practice shuttle.

Yeah, we'll miss the sedan Evo and everything it represents. But maybe this story doesn't have a sad ending after all. It's all going to come down to how well Mitsubishi executes this product shift. So get it right, guys.

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[Mook]

Why even bother Mitsu....why....whhyyyyyyyyyyyy

 

[1quick]

the last evo i liked was the 9 what a great car that was, i had no real experience with the x but i didnt care for how it looked

 

[VenomInside]

I was reading another site that also said that they are trying to go the route of hybrid/electric cars.

Either way mitsu is a no win.

 

[blck10th]

Mitsubishi has nothing. Absolutely nothing now.

 

[IDAFC21]

 

[bikrboy128]

the evo was the last acceptable car mitsu had.

 

[ChrisRac]

I never understood why a television company got into the car business.

 

[Mike K]

How long has it been since the EVO has been relevant? How long has it been since Mitsubishi has been relevant outside of the EVO and car enthusiast groups? It's been a long time on both counts.

Crossovers are really popular and a performance crossover is both an easy and a safe niche to fill. Mitsubishi needs safe cars right now if they want to continue to exist in the American market. Performance compact cars aren't safe. They're not numbers cars.

I have a huge chub for the Evoque but 240hp and a 7.1 second 0-60? If someone were to come out with a good looking, relatively light and quick crossover they're going to move units. I think that's all Mitsu cares about right now. If you ever want to see the Evo return that's probably all enthusiasts should care about either.

 

[TonzKnock-G]

Hi

 

[ukevo8]

I Agree with you mike. They are following the treads of the times not trying to follow the downward spiral of the compact car seen. We are in a baby boomer period in time again people need space in a vehicle for more people and want to be safe at the same time.

 

[Shadow99]

 

[YoushallgoFo]

doesn't matter woulda probably had like 300hp like the sti and got crushed by the new muscle cars in straight line and handling performance for the same price. These cars had their time in the mid 2000's but they can't hang anymore.

 

[Bru]

Evo X > 2015 STi.

The base Lancer is so far out of touch with modern compact cars it's not even worth considering at a huge discount off MSRP.

 

[Shadow99]

doesn't matter woulda probably had like 300hp like the sti and got crushed by the new muscle cars in straight line and handling performance for the same price. These cars had their time in the mid 2000's but they can't hang anymore.

 

[YoushallgoFo]

92 3:13.3 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION MR
36 3:02.8 FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 LAGUNA SECA
32 3:01.5 CHEVROLET CAMARO SS 1LE

Lightning Lap 2013: Hot Cars, Hot Track, Hot Laps - - Car and Driver

 

[Shadow99]

Cool stats brah. But are we talking modified, not modified, year difference with technology? Small dick big dick?

 

[Mook]

276 hp 4 cyl going against 440hp Mustang and 400hp camaro. Totally fair comparison

 

[RedBeard]

If Mitsubishi automotive could just go out of business already... that'd be great.

 

[Mook]

Once the IX went away, I stopped paying any attention to Mitsu.

 

[YoushallgoFo]

276 hp 4 cyl going against 440hp Mustang and 400hp camaro. Totally fair comparison

well i was more thinking it was $38,000 evo/sti vs $38,000 camaro.

they want to keep releasing these cars with 300hp for that price, then you can keep watching their sales go down until they discontinue them.

The latest sti is $38,000 and is newer than the 1le and was still slower. Talk about how you can modifiy it and make it faster, that argument goes both ways. I just don't see these cars as serious performance players like they used to be. They're closer to the focus st and gti than they are to a corvette.

 

[Mook]

They have their markets. Someone shopping for a Boss 302 is likely not cross shopping an STI and vice versa (at least not seriously). Hot hatches and the like def have their places in the world.

 

[YoushallgoFo]

yeah they do. I think i've said this in a thread before but in 2005, you had a legitimate reason to consider an evo or sti over a mustang or camaro in terms of performance. They did almost everything better in every way. Now they're way down in hp, and don't even turn better. I'd consider one of these cars if I needed the extra utility of the hatch or backseat, but then I'm looking at a lot of other cars too at 38g.

 

[Shadow99]

It is sad that mitsu is going the way of family like vehicles more than the performance now. But getting older Id like to look into something like a sportback from mitsu or subaru, maybe even mazda. Just for everyday BS but still have a little kick and look to the car. But still have a weekend warrior.

 

[Kaeghl]

weirdly I was under the impression that the evo and sti were boy racer cars.
Cheap, stripped down for weight, decent suspension, turbo engine.
Something you bought because you couldn't afford something good.
But to see that they go for the same prices as a Camaro SS I really don't understand the appeal at all.