Mitsubishi official says Evo franchise is dead
Discussion
As per title:
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/02/report-mitsubis...
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/02/report-mitsubis...
Autoblog said:
According to Gayu Eusegi, head of global product development for Mitsubishi, the Lancer Evolution X will be the last Evo the Japanese automaker ever builds. Eusegi says the move is part of a shift in strategy to put the company's product focus and ethos on leadership in EV technology.
To that end, Autocar indicates that Mitsubishi will release eight fully-electric or hybrid-electric cars by the time 2015 rolls around, and make a grab for a big portion of the CO2-reduction market share. It goes without saying that the fun-yet-fuel-swilling Evo just doesn't fit that mindset, particularly since it apes a rally car that no longer exists.
Despite the Evo's huge popularity, Mitsubishi apparently isn't scared of the step and says it's confident that consumers will glom on to the idea and rally behind the brand. By killing the Evo, they're making their intentions plain to an increasingly environmentally-conscious car-buying public.
Eusegi killed dead any notion that the brand would roll out a performance-oriented hybrid as well. "Maybe the world can change, and maybe someday we can do a motor race by electric vehicles. Maybe then we can enter the market agian," he said.
This report of the Evo's death would seem to stand in contrast to multiple reports that an Evo XI is in the works with a hybrid drivetrain. We're taking this latest Autocar missive with a few grains of salt, as we can see how Eusegi may have simply meant that an Evo that relies exclusively on internal combustion is dead – a hybrid Evo would seem to offer a nice technological bridge to Mitsubishi's more electrically minded future. Hat tip to Dennis!
DiscussTo that end, Autocar indicates that Mitsubishi will release eight fully-electric or hybrid-electric cars by the time 2015 rolls around, and make a grab for a big portion of the CO2-reduction market share. It goes without saying that the fun-yet-fuel-swilling Evo just doesn't fit that mindset, particularly since it apes a rally car that no longer exists.
Despite the Evo's huge popularity, Mitsubishi apparently isn't scared of the step and says it's confident that consumers will glom on to the idea and rally behind the brand. By killing the Evo, they're making their intentions plain to an increasingly environmentally-conscious car-buying public.
Eusegi killed dead any notion that the brand would roll out a performance-oriented hybrid as well. "Maybe the world can change, and maybe someday we can do a motor race by electric vehicles. Maybe then we can enter the market agian," he said.
This report of the Evo's death would seem to stand in contrast to multiple reports that an Evo XI is in the works with a hybrid drivetrain. We're taking this latest Autocar missive with a few grains of salt, as we can see how Eusegi may have simply meant that an Evo that relies exclusively on internal combustion is dead – a hybrid Evo would seem to offer a nice technological bridge to Mitsubishi's more electrically minded future. Hat tip to Dennis!
Wow, that's a bit disheartening, the evo is a beautiful car with a lot of grunt and superb handling for its price. I remember driving a friend of mine and I was taken aback at the sheer speed of the evo. That sucker really moved, and the steering was so tight and quick, with what felt lile zero body roll. It truly did amaze me. It had me thiking, "if this car can turn like that with such precision, I can only imagine what an exige would feel like. Thankfull later that year I had the pleasure of driving an elise. It was every bit as superb as I imagined.
mybrainhurts said:
Dear Mitsubishi, you're in the doodoo when this global warming scam bites the dust.
It's already crumbling, haven't you noticed?
Even when the lie is exposed, too many people are brainwashed and will pass it off as the lies of the uneducated, plus government are making too much out of it to let it simply drift away It's already crumbling, haven't you noticed?
Hopefully that make a nuclear powered EVO instead
=O It really has happened then =( Spose we should have seen this coming with the closeure or Ralliart last year? Or was it the year before? Geuss it really is a sign of the times with the way fuel costs are going and the rest of the economic climate these type of cars are starting to slowly disappear.
R.I.P Evo
R.I.P Evo
LeeThr said:
=O It really has happened then =( Spose we should have seen this coming with the closeure or Ralliart last year? Or was it the year before? Geuss it really is a sign of the times with the way fuel costs are going and the rest of the economic climate these type of cars are starting to slowly disappear.
R.I.P Evo
R.I.P Evo
Is very sad stuff.
I can never own a remotely new evo
thinfourth2 said:
Good Kill the brand before it becomes fat and slow chasing safety and sales.
Too late 
Mitsubishi NZ apparently wanted to market the Evo X as a Galant VR4, because thats where it fits with previous models size- and weight-wise, but were overruled by the big boys as 'Evo' was considered a better brand.
Its case hasn't been helped by the struggle to become really competitive in Group-N etc, a lot of teams have stuck with the older versions because of this.
That said, this comment in the article:
autoblog said:
..particularly since it apes a rally car that no longer exists.
is a load of crap, obviously written by a journalist too lazy to do any basic research before spouting off their attention-seeking blather.Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 3rd March 06:33
Well, Japanese performance as we knew it is pretty much all but dead now.
Skylines - gone, and as good as the R35 GTR is, it's not a Skyline.
Supras - gone.
4wd turbo powered Celicas - gone a long time!
Type R engines - killed by Euro V regulations.
Subaru - completely wayward. No longer call any of their cars "Impreza" and the one that was an Impreza now looks like a dull german saloon. No satisfactory replacement for the manic rally cars on the road they used to make.
Mitsubishi - no longer interested in making performance cars either.
It's all over now. The Japanese manufacturers have been distancing themselves from performance vehicles for some time, but these last couple of years it really has fallen through. With the Subaru/Mitsubishi pull-out from the WRC, their road cars instantly started becoming fatter and softer. Some would argue that Subaru with the Impreza hatch that never quite got it right, were already on that track. One by one, the big names were dying, never replaced. What Toyota did with the Celica spells it out; one generation was topped by a 4wd, turbo powered rally rep, the next was a hideously styled FWD coupe that sold a few units, but had absolutely nothing in common with the older model. The Japanese should have stuck at building cars for rallying, because when they put their hearts into it, they were unbeatable. I would love to see what kind of cars Subaru and Mitsubishi would have come up with if they maintained funding through the 2000s, instead of scaling it back. By the end, their cars, while fast, were not cutting edge enough to keep up with the Citroen C4s, but thats not to say the Japs could not have built something better.
It's a massive shame, but this is one of the final nails in the coffin in a golden era of motoring the likes of which we will probably never see again.
Skylines - gone, and as good as the R35 GTR is, it's not a Skyline.
Supras - gone.
4wd turbo powered Celicas - gone a long time!
Type R engines - killed by Euro V regulations.
Subaru - completely wayward. No longer call any of their cars "Impreza" and the one that was an Impreza now looks like a dull german saloon. No satisfactory replacement for the manic rally cars on the road they used to make.
Mitsubishi - no longer interested in making performance cars either.
It's all over now. The Japanese manufacturers have been distancing themselves from performance vehicles for some time, but these last couple of years it really has fallen through. With the Subaru/Mitsubishi pull-out from the WRC, their road cars instantly started becoming fatter and softer. Some would argue that Subaru with the Impreza hatch that never quite got it right, were already on that track. One by one, the big names were dying, never replaced. What Toyota did with the Celica spells it out; one generation was topped by a 4wd, turbo powered rally rep, the next was a hideously styled FWD coupe that sold a few units, but had absolutely nothing in common with the older model. The Japanese should have stuck at building cars for rallying, because when they put their hearts into it, they were unbeatable. I would love to see what kind of cars Subaru and Mitsubishi would have come up with if they maintained funding through the 2000s, instead of scaling it back. By the end, their cars, while fast, were not cutting edge enough to keep up with the Citroen C4s, but thats not to say the Japs could not have built something better.
It's a massive shame, but this is one of the final nails in the coffin in a golden era of motoring the likes of which we will probably never see again.
My take on that is a petrol only Evo will not exist.
Think about it though, a hybrid evo would actually be an evolutionary (no pun intended) step forward. The key selling point of the Evo is it's 4WD system. A hybrid using motor in wheel technology (or similar) would give you the ultimate 4WD system being able to vector torque to any given wheel instantly from 0-100%
Think about it though, a hybrid evo would actually be an evolutionary (no pun intended) step forward. The key selling point of the Evo is it's 4WD system. A hybrid using motor in wheel technology (or similar) would give you the ultimate 4WD system being able to vector torque to any given wheel instantly from 0-100%
Edited by rhinochopig on Thursday 3rd March 08:30
cocopop said:
Well this seals it, off to look at Evos now.
I am guessing that this will turn EVOs 1 through to 10 in to classics of their time. With some having a good proven rally pedigree and some of the last being hi-tech innovation performance cars that we may never see the likes of again.
ETA
Ads in classified please.
Edited by Big Al. on Thursday 3rd March 13:30
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