Under Mitsubishi's current product plan the vaunted Evo X could go away by 2014.
What would Mitsubishi be like without its best car, the Lancer Evolution X? Looks like we might get a chance to find out.
According to a report in British car magazine Autocar, Mitsubishi’s future product plans do not include an 11th generation of the niche rally racer, meaning the ultimate pocket rocket could be gone by 2014. Instead Mitsubishi is focusing on building fuel efficient vehicles, particularly electric cars.
The Evo has become a cult classic, a boy-racer rocket living in the body of a budget economy car. The Evo may have a bargain-basement interior, but the bits underneath are what counts.
With a turbocharged 292-horsepower four cylinder and a sophisticated all-wheel-drive sytem, the Evo is the perfect tool for carving up everything from a loose gravel road to kinky tarmac.
Mitsubishi is planning to turn over its entire model lineup to concentrate on high-efficiency vehicles such as the i MiEV.
But Mitsubishi is putting its engineering resources toward high-efficieny vehicles, particularly electrics. In fact, the automaker plans to introduce eight electric or partially electric vehicles by 2015, including the innovative i MiEV electric.
In fact, the makeover of its lineup will likely include its entire current model range. The automaker’s future product plans do not include next-gen versions of the Endeavor, Gallant or Eclipse.
Mitsubishi’s plan to remake its car business is bold. But the struggling automaker has to do something different because what its doing now isn’t working.
But couldn’t it just keep the Evo?