Mitsubishi cars

2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV Evolution Pikes Peak Race Car

Electric vehicles running up Pikes Peak isn’t entirely a novelty anymore, especially after we saw a Nissan Leaf and a custom EV from AC Propulsion do it just last year.

This year, Japanese automaker is jumping on the bandwagon by building a custom i-MiEV Prototype that they hope to unleash on Pikes Peak. Called the i-MiEV Evolution, the Pikes Peak-bound race car doesn’t look anything like the i-MiEV. For one, this prototype actually looks like a certified racer, as opposed to the flat-iron-looking i-MiEV.

Despite its completely different look, the i-MiEV Evolution features the same electric motor, drive battery, and a lot of other major components of the production i-MiEV. The i-MiEV Evolution will be using three electric motors - one for the front two wheels, and two for each rear wheel - producing a total output of 322 horsepower. Combine that number to the car’s lightweight structure and you have a race car that’s fixing to make some serious noise at Pikes Peak.

Sitting behind the wheel of the i-MiEV Evolution Pikes Peak Race Car will be two-time Dakar Rally Champion, Hiroshi Masuoka.

It’s pretty interesting to see how Mitsubishi will continue to evolve their i-MiEV Pikes Peak Race Car leading up to this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. We’re not expecting the car to set any records, but it will be cool to see how it fares relative to the times set by the Nissan Leaf last year.

2013 Mitsubishi Outlander

Mitsubishi will unveil in March at the Geneva Motor show the new generation Outlander - a model that "is meant to better comply with the times." The new model will be similar in sizes to the car it replaces, but will adopt the latest Mitsubishi design language defined by "Solid – Safe – Simple".

On the interior the company focused on offering a better driver concentration. For this the new Outlander will be featuring an ergonomic steering wheel controls as well as high-resolution and easy-to-read instrument displays. Mitsubishi will also be offering better materials like: padded surfaces, soft-touch finish, silver accents, gloss black appliques.

The new Outlander will be offered with a choice of two engines: a 2.0 liter MIVEC petrol or 2.2 MIVEC Clean Diesel engines equipped with Auto Stop & Go and an all-new 6-speed automatic gearbox, depending on the market.

The new generation Outlander will go on sale this summer.

Mitsubishi teases new global product before Geneva debut

It doesn’t take long after the Detroit Motor Show closes its doors before automakers start dishing out details on their lineup for the Geneva Motor Show. Mitsubishi is ready to jump into the kitchen with the first teaser image for a new global product set to be unveiled in March. This project takes another step towards the company’s "Jump 2013" business plan for a greener and more global Mitsubishi.

The yet-to-named concept features a re-focused design language that will be used for all the future models and has been designed as "an open design concept, meant to be flexible enough to suit specific vehicle requirements whilst staging Mitsubishi’s famous Three Diamond logo accordingly."

No other details have been provided yet, but Mitsubishi did confirm that the concept will feature a new 4N1 Clean Diesel engine and Green Plastics, as well as benefit from the innovative PHEV technologies.

More details about this new global product will be revealed in the upcoming months, so stay tuned!

2011 Mitsubishi ASX Black

Mitsubishi has launched on the British market the ASX Black - a new special edition model with enhanced exterior styling and a bespoke interior. The model can be ordered with two different engine versions, with prices ranging from £21,099 ($28,800) for the ASX 4 1.6 2wd Manual to £25,399 ($34,700) for the ASX 4 1.8 DI-D 4WD Manual.

Although the name "Black" makes you think about a black car, the new ASX Black will actually be offered in six different exterior color: blue, white, silver, black, red and gray. The name Black comes from the introduction of satin black styling kit which includes striking black 17” alloy wheels, roof, spoiler, mirrors, grille and fog lamp bezels. The interior benefits from the addition of a special edition black leather kit featuring carbon fiber inserts.

As standard options the ASX Black will offer Kenwood satellite, Navigation system, reversing camera, iPod connection, Mitsubishi Active Stability and Traction Control (M-ASTC).

2012 Mitsubishi PX-MiEV Concept II

The Tokyo Motor Show is just around the corner - doors open in December - so it was high time that automakers started revealing their plans, including the over 20 world debuts scheduled. Mitsubishi is starting off its announcements with two new models that will be in attendance in Tokyo. One of them is a second version of the PX-MiEV Concept first unveiled back in 2009. This new concept takes Mitsubishi’s existing EV technology a step forward, delivering more environmental performance and better fuel efficiency than any existing SUV.

The PX-MiEV Concept II uses a unique plug-in hybrid system that combines a small 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine with EV technology derived from the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. This system allows the Concept PX-MiEV II to offer an impressive economy of more than 60 km/l (141 mpg) and a cruising range of over 800 km (497 miles).

The hybrid system takes its power from high-capacity batteries that allow the vehicle to cover over 50 km (31 miles) in all-electric mode alone. The driver has a button that allows him to change from Battery Drive Mode (for those residential areas) to pure EV more (for the countryside).

Stay tuned because more details on the Mitsubishi PX-MiEV Concept II will be revealed at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.

Next generation Mitsubishi Evo will be hybrid

Rumors about a new generation Mitsubishi Evo are circulation for a very long time and so is the rumor that the model might be featuring a hybrid powertrain. But now it has been confirmed: the Evo XI will use a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain. The announcement has been made by Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko during an interview with Autocar: "We will start work on the project next year, and it will be ready within three. I have set the goal of developing a sporting car featuring electric power."

In the same interview Masuko has promised that despite hybrid powertrain the next Evo XI will still sprint from 0 to 60 mph in under 5 seconds while still receiving better fuel economy than the current Evo. The model will also be equipped with a revised version of the S-AWC four-wheel drive system, which integrates braking, steering and traction control.

Mitsubishi will have its new high-performance car ready for a 2014 debut. Stay tuned!

Mitsubishi Eclipse May See Reincarnation

With a definitive 22-year run and a recent termination of production, any news on the Mitsubishi Eclipse should be far and few between, or should it? At a recent media preview of the i electric car, Greg Adams, Mitsubishi Motors North America’s Vice President-Marketing and Product Planning was quoted saying that the Eclipse "always comes back around sooner or later."

Just when we were closing the book on the Japanese automaker’s mid-size sports car, all of a sudden there’s another chapter. According to Mitsubishi, the Eclipse was "the most-successful U.S.-market sports car from a Japanese auto maker in the past 20 years." It sold 982,024 units in the U.S. since the car’s 1989 launch and saw a 105.4% increase in sales through August 2011 compared to 2010. So why was it axed? As with any other automaker, Mitsubishi’s focus has switched to fuel efficiency, leading them to market their new i-MiEV extensively, so the extra work in trying to get the Eclipse to the next level was probably not worth it at the time. The Galant sedan will also be seeing its dreadful end by 2013, as will the Endeavor SUV. These deletions will leave Mitsubishi with three models in their lineup, and some room to grow when they’re ready.

Adams said that a future midsize sedan from Mitsubishi wasn’t off the table as long as the numbers worked out, so the Galant may still have its fair chance to come back. Our vote, though, is for the Eclipse.

Video: The perfect way to boost morale in the workplace

We’ve encountered some out-of-the-box team-building sessions in the work place in the past, but this one is something that we haven’t seen before. Quite frankly, we haven’t seen an activity like this anywhere for that matter.

In this video, you’re going to witness a team-building activity unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It involves a company called Adaptive Computing, a UT-based HPC and cloud computing company, and members of its sales team who received the most unusual of rewards for surpassing their 2010 revenue goal: they got the chance to blow up their boss’ 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage.

We’re dead serious.

Apparently, the Mirage even had a name - Patrik - and was the main attraction of the family picnic when the company’s VP of HR had the idea of blowing up the car that belonged to the company’s VP of Sales.

Watch the video and you’re going to hear kids’ voices in the background, excitedly waiting for Patrik to get blown to smithereens. We don’t know how the owner of this car agreed to have his vehicle blown up, but seeing as he’s a vice president within the company, he probably has something much better than a 1995 Mirage in his garage.

Check out the video for all the carnage!

2013 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution XI

The Evo-loving world was in shambles after Mitsubishi Global Product Director, Gayu Eusegi, announced that the company would be killing off the all-wheel-drive turbocharged Lancer Evolution. The Evo is one of the best models Mitsubishi has ever offered and fans everywhere were shocked that the company would take such extreme measures. A few back pedals later and Mitsubishi President and CEO, Osamu Masuko, calmed the waters by stating that the the Evo X would not be the last of the Evolutions. Now, Masuko has offered even more details for the future of the Evo to Japanese magazine, Best Car, stating that "Mitsubishi is fully intent on producing a high-performance car in the future, albeit green." Yeah, join the club, Masuko.

The rumor has long been that the Evo XI would be a diesel-electric hybrid. Such a powertrain would allow the Evo XI to hustle to 0-60 MPH in under 5 seconds while still receiving better fuel economy than the current Evo. Now, it seems the technology that was unveiled in the PX-MiEV concept at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show is looking to fit itself into the EVO XI. This would mean a 1.6- liter gasoline engine combined with an electric motor that will take its power from a set of lithium-ion batteries. The electric motors will power the vehicle at low to middle speeds, while the engine will kick on at high speeds. The engine will also provide back up for the motors when their charge runs low. The hybrid system will be combined with Mitsubishi’s S-AWC all-wheel-drive system and active yaw control, technologies that have already been used in the Evo X.

2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution XI may have been saved from the chopping block, but at least one Mitsubishi sports coupe is on its final dregs and will soon ride off into the sunset. For the record, the Eclipse, has been one of our favorite Japanese sports coupes in recent times so it goes without saying that we’re pretty bummed out that the line will officially end after the 2012 model year.

On that note, Mitsubishi has prepared a new mode of the Eclipse, called the ’Eclipse SE’ to give the car the proper send-off it deserves. Slated to be the last Eclipse model to be built, the Eclipse SE comes with some new details and features to make the last one a pretty memorable one, too.

Make no mistake, it’s a sad time to be a Mitsubishi Eclipse fan, but as the scribes always used to say, “all good things must come to an end”. And if this is the send-off that Mitsubishi is giving to their once-beloved sports coupe, then we expect the car sell like ice cream on a hot summer day.

Details on the Mitsubishi Eclipse SE after the jump.