NewCelica.org Forum banner

20__ Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution XI

24K views 48 replies 25 participants last post by  Motor 
#1 · (Edited)
Next-Gen Mitsubishi Evo to go Hybrid
Wanting to make the company's most prized car more environmentally friendly, Mitsubishi executive Testuro Aikawa was heard to say that his R&D team were testing an Evo prototype fitted with the PX MiEV's hybrid system, and that "we could well see that system in the Evo within the next couple of years."
Plug-in tech for Lancer Evo XI
The next-generation Mitsubishi Lancer Evo could use a plug-in hybrid system that is being shown at the Tokyo motor show, sources have told Autocar.

The plug-in technology is being showcased on the Mitsubishi PX-MiEV concept, and if applied to the Evo XI would dramatically alter its make-up.

With the PX-MiEV, front and rear wheels are powered by two 81bhp permanent magnet synchronous motors. There’s also a 1.6-litre MIVEC petrol engine which not only drives the front wheels but also serves as a generator.

However, the system is configured around Mitsubishi’s Evo-style S-AWC handling control system, and automatically switches between different drive modes depending on driving style and remaining power in the lithium ion battery pack.

It’s a highly sophisticated switchable system that borrows i-MiEV electric car tech for the back wheels but uses a new parallel-type hybrid system for the fronts. It also delivers over 140mpg economy, Mitsubishi says.

Mitsubishi hopes to have it on the market by 2013, but company insiders say the technology could be directed at the new Evo.

At present, development work on the next Evo has effectively stalled, according to a source familiar with the programme, which explains why there has been no serious tweaking of the Evo X in Japan since its launch in 2007.

.
Mitsubishi PX-MiEV concept
Scoop! Mitsubishi Evo XI Goes Hybrid!
Mitsubishi's Performance Icon Goes Green. Sort Of.

You may have heard rumors the next generation Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution will be an electric car. Well, they're true. But before you start writing angry rants in the comments box, read on. According to one source inside Mitsubishi, the Evolution XI, due in 2013, will be the best Evo yet.

The new Evo's 2.0 litre MIVEC petrol engine, borrowed from the current Japan-spec Galant, will be mated to a new plug-in hybrid system with lithium-ion batteries. But here's the twist: the Evo's main power source will not be the gas engine, but an electric motor that will drive the front wheels. The 2.0 litre engine, when needed, will drive the rear wheels.

The Evo XI will give drivers the option of driving in EV mode, though only for short distances, improving fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. But it won't be a namby-pamby eco-warrior. According to our source, the electric motor will be an upgraded version of the 63 hp permanent magnet synchronous motor used in the i-MiEV, and the 2.0 litre MIVEC gas engine is expected to generate around 320 hp. Depending on how Mitsubishi manages the power flow between the two, the Evo XI could effectively have up to 350 hp on tap. The current Evo makes do with a mere 291 hp.

Our sketches give one artist's impression of how the new Evo XI might look. Whatever the final design, this much is clear: Mitsubishi is determined to totally re-invent one of the world's great performance cars.




Let the rumors and speculation begin.
 
See less See more
2
#44 ·
Update!

Next Mitsubishi EVO to be 500bhp hybrid
Lancer Evolution to get hybrid power and will rival the Nissan GT-R

Mitsubishi’s long-awaited 21st century replacement for the Lancer Evolution is inching closer to reality.

But if it happens, Autocar can reveal, it won’t be an Evo as we know it but, in all likelihood, a 500bhp plug-in hybrid rival to the Nissan GT-R.

With the new-generation Lancer hatchback being readied for global launch next year and a plug-in hybrid version of that car already in the product plan, highly placed Mitsubishi executives are discussing options for a petrol-electric performance car. The model would inherit technology directly from the company’s MiEV Evolution II Pikes Peak prototype racer and take the Evo into a new performance dimension.

It’s still early days for the car, whose viability depends on market acceptance of Mitsubishi’s new plug-in hybrid PHEV technology. But with the company’s all-electric prototype demonstrating the sporting potential of a fully asymmetric electric powertrain for performance and handling at the Pikes Peak event, there is renewed interest in transferring that performance to the road.

The potential is for a high-end, technologically sophisticated sporting option with greater all-wheel drive performance than any Lancer Evo has had before, combined with low emissions and the option of all-electric running.

If it is built, the new Evo, whose styling is likely to be influenced by the Concept-RA shown at Detroit in 2008, will follow a less performance-orientated Lancer PHEV in the mould of the existing Outlander PHEV, itself due in the UK later this year. Like the hybrid Outlander, the Lancer PHEV is expected to combine a 2.0-litre petrol engine with two 80bhp electric motors. It should be capable of at least 150mpg and 50g/km on the European combined economy and CO2 emissions test and have an all-electric range approaching 40 miles.

If the market takes to that car, it leaves the door open for the new Evo, and the early signs are that the Lancer PHEV could be a success. The Outlander PHEV has only been launched in Japan and the Netherlands, but Mitsubishi has already received more orders for it than expected — a situation that has slowed the car’s market rollout elsewhere.

But it’s far from a certainty. As Mitsubishi Motors North America executive vice-president of electric vehicle operations Masatoshi Hasegawa explained, there are still obstacles surrounding charging infrastructure to be negotiated before Mitsubishi’s PHEV cars can reach their full global sales potential.

"In North America particularly, agreement is slow to come on fast charging hardware," said Hasegawa. The USA’s domestic car makers are backing new fast charging hardware defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers, while Nissan and ourselves have been using the Chademo standard. There needs to be agreement before everyone can benefit from the investment in infrastructure.
 
#45 ·
A $45,000 Evo...
 
#47 ·
OK, well then, more like $48,000. That hybrid BS will add 12K...
 
#49 ·
Update!

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Coming Back
Same spirit, but so much has changed, it'll likely have a different name

In line with Mitsubishi's "New Stage 2016" business plan spanning 2014-2016, company CEO Osamu Masuko said that his R&D team will streamline Mitsubishi's current 23 models built on 12 different platforms to just 13 models on 7 platforms by 2016. Mitsubishi will also build two sedans using Renault platforms.

And here's a scoop: While the next-generation base Lancer will employ a Renault platform, the high-performance Evolution will not. "Huh, but we thought the Evo was in cryogenic freeze, never to see a successor to the current model Evo X," I hear you say. Not so.

In early 2011, one British publication reported that the "Evo series is dead with the Evo X." Masuko made the unprecedented move to counter those claims when he responded, "The Evo as you know it is no more. The new model will take a completely different direction. What you will see in the near future will be a totally new Evo that employs innovative technology and inspired handling."

Our source in Japan uncovered plans from inside the halls of Mitsubishi's Tokyo HQ that confirm the company is well into the development of a next-generation Evolution. The image you see here is an artist's impression of what the next-gen Evo might look like, following recent design cues from concept cars like the very stylish XR-PHEV concept revealed at Tokyo.

However, from what we are hearing, the next Evo will be so different from the 10 versions of Evos that were churned out every two years since 1993 that it will probably get a totally new name.

First, the demands on the performance and handling side are so great that no Renault platform could cope, says our insider. The next Evo will be an extension of the huge strides that Mitsubishi has made in plug-in electric vehicle (EV) and battery technology as witnessed in the Outlander PHEV. The next Evo will be a fusion of "uncompromised handling with state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid EV technology," stresses our contact.

That's why it has to employ a unique platform. The next Evo will be a showcase of technology and therefore has to sit on a specially developed platform. It all comes down to the cost effectiveness of next-generation EV technology that must achieve greater range while incorporating a smaller engine, smaller electric motors, and lighter, better-performing batteries.

The company's new modular technology will incorporate a "downsized" direct-injection turbo-diesel engine and a revised version of Mitsubishi's proven Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC), a vehicle dynamics system that integrates management of its Active Centre Differential, Active Yaw Control, Active Stability Control, and Sports ABS.

Our source tells us the Evo's R&D team is currently evaluating an enhanced version of the 135-hp 1.1-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine powering the sharp-edged XR-PHEV concept revealed at the Tokyo show in November. "This engine generates at least 35 percent more power than any comparably sized engine," says our source, "so it should be plenty for the new Evo."

The next-gen Evo will also be 4WD, but not as you know it. Like the Outlander PHEV, the Evo will employ motors front and aft, but while they will generate similar amounts of power, they will be significantly downsized and the battery pack will be slotted under the rear seats, producing a perfect 50/50 front/rear weight distribution.

Another source close to Mitsubishi informs us that when integrated with the front and rear electric motors, the next-generation S-AWC will achieve handling capabilities that will surpass any previous Evo, even the Evo X. And that is why, he says, the new Evo will not employ a Renault chassis. "Sure, the stock Lancer is slated to sit on a Renault Megane platform, but the Evo requires something quite special, a platform that can only be developed in-house."

Whatever name it gets, one thing's for sure. Mitsubishi believes the new "Evo" will rival any competitor for performance, handling, and fuel efficiency, and with state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid technology making it all possible.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top