Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko confirmed that the brand has plans for a hybrid Evo that will use a diesel-electric powertrain.

Masuko says “We will start work on the project next year, and it will be ready within three. I have set a goal of developing a sporting car featuring electric power.”

It is anticipated that the upcoming Evo XI will reduce emissions, and increase power output. The XI will also feature an updated S-AWC four-wheel drive system for steering, breaking, and handling.

While there were talks of the Evo being retired, that decision didn’t go over well with fans, so the brand chose to integrate the model into its plan to concentrate on the environmental aspects of its cars.

- By: Alexandra Koken

Source: AutoCar

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR

So recently, Mitsubishi announced that they will be killing the Evo lineup and that the current Lancer Evolution will be the last of the famously fast, compact AWD sport sedans so that the company can focus on becoming an industry leader for electric cars. Welp, Mitsubishi has successfully made themselves completely irrelevant, so it’s almost rather pointless to even continue reading.

Mitsubishi has confirmed that it is working on a post-2013 successor to the current Lancer Evolution. Unfortunately though, it is most likely going to leave the current track-derived recipe in the pages history… forever, thanks to the significant chance of stricter emissions and fuel economy standards.

Although it may be a significant loss to the enthusiast communities, all hope may not be lost as Mitsubishi is considering a high-performance plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or PHEV, which is as counterintuitive as it sounds…yawn.

“Production of the current Lancer Evolution continues as planned. As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture. MMC has kept the Lancer Evolution sedan evolving as the brand’s highest-performing model in the global market. 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,” announced in a press statement.

- By: Chris Chin

Source: InsideLine

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

Before you go ahead and dive into this story, we’d just like to say that you can’t believe everything you read on the internet. A lot of the times, what we call ‘sources’ and ‘insiders’ are actually real people that provide a nice sneek peak as to what’s going on inside the company – other times we’re not really sure what to believe or if the ‘sources’ and ‘insiders’ are real people. In this case… well, we’ll let you decide.

A couple months ago it was reported that next-generation Lancer Evo XI will be a plug-in hybrid sedan that uses an electric-motor instead of a turbocharger that it uses right now. The report said that the hybrid Evo will use the same platform as the Concept PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid concept from last year”s Tokyo Motor Show… etc.

Well, it is now reported that Mitsubishi is so concerned with meeting European fuel-economy regulations that it had considered dropping the Evo all together until someone from the R&D department started bouncing around a new idea – a diesel hybrid Evo.

‘Insiders’ say that the diesel hybrid Evo would have so much torque that it can go from 0-62 mph in under 5 seconds and cut CO2 emissions to under 200g/km (which is pretty good).

- By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoCar

Following GM’s decision to not offer a 2009 Saturn Astra, Mitsubishi spokeswomen Christine Jew said the high-performance Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution sedan will take a break for 2009.

Jew said that there were no changes planned for a 2009 Evolution Lancer and that there is enough inventory to last until the 2010 model is released until later this year. According to KickingTires, Cars.com’s listings show 887 Lancer Evolutions from the 2008 model year are still available.

Sales of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution were up over 50 percent in 2008. Jew said that there will be minor changes to the 2010 model year.

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X:

Source: KickingTires

The South Yorkshire Police has added a new police specification Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X to its Road Crime Unit. Inspector of the South Yorkshire Police applauded the new Evolutions strong visual appearance, performance and safety credentials.

While it’s no Lamborghini LP560-4 used by the Italian police, the Evolution X Police car will still help law enforcement catch criminals with its 300-hp engine that helps it go from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds while taking corners like a pro.

The new Evolution X Police cars will be fitted with the latest Police hardware and software. One key feature is the Automatic Number Plate Recognition that allows officers to check who the vehicle is registered to and if there is anything suspicious about the vehicle they are in pursuit of.

Follow the jump for the high-res image gallery.

Mitsubishi South Yorkshire Police Lancer Evolution X:

The new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X holds a very special place in our hearts and when we heard almost 2 months ago that Mitsubishi is working on a FQ400 405-hp limited edition inspired by the 400-hp Mitsubishi Racing Lancer Evo X, you can be sure that we were very excited. Well, the new 2008/2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ400 has landed and it’s everything we expected although its not that different performance wise than the 2005 EVO FQ400.

Power comes from the same 2.0L engine but Mitsubishi has added a new turbocharger, exhaust manifold and revised ECU to extract a total of 405-hp and a peak torque of 298 lb-ft. That allows for a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.5 seconds. Upgrade brakes were added for some extra stopping power.

Appearance wise the new Lancer Evolution X FQ400 doesn’t look very different from the standard EVO but it does get minor changes like lightweight body panels, new vents near the foglamps for extra engine cooling, side sills and twin-pipe exhaust system.

Mitsubishi will only be producing 100 units of the FQ400 which will go on sale in the UK in March of 2009 with prices starting at  £45,000 ($79,015 USD).

Source: AutoExpress

Just when you thought the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X couldn’t get any better, Mitsubishi has approved plans to build a new range-topping model called the FQ400. Joining the FQ300 and the FQ360, the FQ400 will go on sale next year.

Inspiration came from the recent 400-hp Mitsubishi Racing Lancer Evo X that took part in the Britcar 24-hour race. The Racing Lancer Evo X finished 5th in its class and 25th overall.

According to AutoExpress, there aren’t any firm details on the street-legal version but it will produce close to 400-hp with a new turbocharger, exhaust manifold, a revised ECU and fuel system. 0 to 60 mph will come in 3.5 seconds with top speed coming in at more than 170 mph. It’ll also get other tweaks like bigger brakes and an upgraded suspension. Pricing is expected to be around £45,000 ($79,015 USD).

Click through for more high-res images of the Racing Lancer Evo X and the 2008 Lancer Evolution X.

Mitsubishi Racing Lancer Evo X at Britcar 24-hour Endurance:

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X:

Source: AutoExpress

Mitsubishi confirmed today that it is developing a race-going version of the new Lancer Evo X which will take place in the popular Britcar Championship. Mitsubishi is teaming up with SVA-UK with the car being driven by the company’s managing director and former BTCC, James Kaye.

ADR Motorsport will be building the car with the first public appearance scheduled for Sept 20th and 21st. The car will compete there for the first time in the Britcar 24-hour at Silverstone driven by Kaye.

“As I”m yet to race this season I”m not only looking forward to getting back behind the wheel, but also driving the new Mitsubishi”, said Kaye. “It is anticipated that the engine will develop around 400bhp which, together with the Evo”s four-wheel-drive system and inherently good chassis, should make it a highly-competitive package.”

We wish you luck Kaye – don’t let the Evo fans down.

Mitsubishi Racing Lancer Evolution X: