Mitsubishi cars

Video: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution SE

The special edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution SE made its world debut just a few days ago. Now, the GT Channel has put together a promotional video of the car that will go on sale in the fall of 2010 and will be placed between the MR and GSR models.

The new Lancer Evolution SE gets an ultra-high performance suspension package, two-piece Brembo front brake rotors with remarkable stopping power, and Mitsubishi’s lightning-fast Twin Clutch-Sportronic Shift Transmission (TC-SST). It was also receive a small, less conspicuous lip spoiler. The exterior will be distinguished by brightly illuminating HID headlights and a choice of four colors - Graphite Gray, Wicked White, Phantom Black, and Octane Blue. On the interior it gets heated cloth RECARO seats and exclusive "SE" badging to round out the Lancer Evolution SE’s unique packaging.

The Electric Future

The idea of the electric car is nothing new. It has actually been around for quite some time. In fact, according to a few new rumors and The Telegraph, the first electric car idea came from way back in 1884 with a vehicle created by British inventor Thomas Parker. The electric car, in theory, is one of the greatest ideas to ever hit the automotive world. No emissions, no instant torque, and no obnoxiously loud noise, plus there is little chance that a fire could occur in the event of a wreck. So what went wrong?

Well, as great as the idea was there are a few problems that hamper the car’s progress. The batteries have to be special and rather heavy; no double A is powerful enough for a moving vehicle. Modern cars weigh a lot and they need to be able to travel at high rate of speeds on the motorway, so the batteries need to be strong and luckily, there are a few companies working to make these machines possible.

Japanese automaker Nissan will soon release the Leaf, a pure electric vehicle that will surely change the way we think about modern cars, especially for city use. The Leaf isn’t the only electric car in the world. There are few others you might see roaming around the world’s many streets in a few years. These include the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the Mini E, and the Smart ED. These are all real cars that you won’t be able to buy if you live in America, at least not yet. They have passed crash tests and offer the same sort of features that you will need in order to go on a road trip.

Hit the jump to read on.

The Battle Of The Japanese Rally Cars: 2010 Subaru WRX STI vs. 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

A civil war has erupted in the automotive world and it’s all thanks to the Japanese. This has nothing to do with baseball, sumo wrestling, or the World Cup. It doesn’t even have anything to do with Honda and Toyota, the two biggest car companies in the Asian country. This is a battle of the younger persons car; two rally machines that have been fighting for years.

In the left corner we have one of the most prolific rally cars of all time, the 2010 Subaru WRX STI. Not quite sure what all those letters stand for but it’s bound to be something with speed or rally in it. The STI has been refreshed time and time again and it has always lagged behind the Mitsubishi in terms of sales and track performance. Yet, that hasn’t stopped them from releasing this new version and making it that much better.

In the right corner we have the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and you guessed it, this is the tenth version. The Lancer Evolution is a definite boy’s toy. It’s hard on the blacktop, dull and boring inside, but all that doesn’t mean anything. It’s this cars rally heritage that makes it so good where it matters.

So, which Japanese rally car takes the champagne and which will win in TopSpeed’s epic battle, the STI or the EVO?

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution SE

Mitsubishi has added a new special edition to their Lancer Evolution X line-up. Called the SE, the new model will go on sale in the fall of 2010 and will be placed between the MR and GSR models.

The new Lancer Evolution SE gets an ultra-high performance suspension package, two-piece Brembo front brake rotors with remarkable stopping power, and Mitsubishi’s lightning-fast Twin Clutch-Sportronic Shift Transmission (TC-SST). It was also receive a small, less conspicuous lip spoiler. The exterior will be distinguished by brightly illuminating HID headlights and a choice of four colors - Graphite Gray, Wicked White, Phantom Black, and Octane Blue. On the interior it gets heated cloth RECARO seats and exclusive "SE" badging to round out the Lancer Evolution SE’s unique packaging.

Under the hood there will be an all-aluminum 291-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged and intercooled engine mated to a six speed dual clutch TC-SST gearbox, which allows the driver to choose between three modes: Normal, Sport, and Super-Sport.

Press release after the jump.

Mitsubishi and Toshiba announce battery partnership

Mitsubishi and Toshiba have just announced a new partnership, aimed at developing lithium-ion batteries for vehicles.

Toshiba, a maker of electronic goods, has been making a few inroads into the automotive industry as of late. The most recent piece of news came when the company announced that it would build electric motors for Ford in June.

The company is now in a partnership with Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, according to Bloomberg. Yuki Murata, a spokesperson for Mitsubishi said the automaker has not yet decided if they will actually use the batteries.

The spokesperson also mentioned that if testing goes according to plan, the company will use the batteries. He pointed out that Toshiba has been working on batteries for a year and it will finish up testing before they approach the automaker to create a formal usage agreement.

This new agreement could help Mitsubishi catch Toyota and Honda in the development of electric cars, as the automaker has yet to produce anything that can rival the Prius or the CR-Z.

Subaru STI and Mitsubishi EVO to get new motors

Has the world turned upside down? The longtime rally inspired 2011 Subaru Impreza STI is going to be offered in a diesel. Even madder is the fact that Mitsubishi is going to be offering the Lancer Evolution as a hybrid.

Due in 2012, the next-generation STI will feature a better version of the 2.0-liter turbodiesel offered in the current base Impreza in the United Kingdom. The flat-four layout should mean that the STI could retain its superb handling and agility.

That doesn’t mean that the petrol engines are history. Insiders are reporting that Subaru is working on a downsized four-cylinder, that could be based on the 1.5-liter flat four that is currently used in the base Impreza.

Mitsubishi, on the other hand, is working on a diesel hybrid for the next-generation Lancer Evolution. Mitsubishi hopes that the change will save the Evo from tightening economy and emissions regulations.

Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.

2011 Mitsubishi ASX Compact Crossover

Mitsubishi will unveil the ASX Compact Crossover at the Geneva Motor Show and will go on sale across European dealers in the spring of 2010. The ASX CUV is the European-spec version of the diamond star’s RVR from Japan and will be powered by an all new 1.8 Liter turbocharged direct injection diesel ready to meet Europe’s stringent Bin 5 emissions standard and in order to further decrease pollutants and increase efficiency the ASX will also feature "Automatic Stop & Go" technology along with a fuel sipping 6 speed manual transmission.

Update 05/04/2010: Mitsubishi has release pricing for ther ASX Compact Crossover. The ASX will run between £14,999 to £22,049 and UK sales will begin July 2010.

Mitsubishi’s Managing Director, Lance Bradley, commented that,

“This is the right car, at the right time, at the right price and specification. The CO2 reducing technologies will appeal to fleets, user-choosers and retail customers alike – indeed, early customer reaction has been very positive with advance orders already taken.

“We’re targeting customers who would traditionally buy a C-segment car, such as the VW Golf and Ford Focus, but also people looking to down-size from their SUV or family estate car. With the ASX you really do get the best of every world.

“It’s a game-changer for us, which could easily become a new ‘hero’ vehicle for the brand and heralds the advent of our new ‘Intelligent Motion’ philosophy.”

Press release after the jump.

Mitsubishi AMS Drag EVO breaks speed record then catches fire

We haven’t heard a whole lot from Mitsubishi these days so imagine how excited we were when we found out that a Mitsubishi AMS Drag EVO VIII caught everyone’s attention at The Texas Mile after it broke the world record for a standing mile on a four cylinder with a top speed of 228 miles per hour.

While the record itself was an achievement in its own right, it still got overshadowed by the events that transpired as soon as the car crossed the timing traps. Watch this video and you’ll notice at around the 1:22 mark that smoke starts coming out of the car only as a small preview to the flames that literally start coming out from under the hood. Driver Eric Jones vainly tried to activate the fire suppression system, but when he realized that it would be for naught, decided on a better course of action by jumping out of the car.

Overall, the AMS team had quite an eventful time at The Texas Mile and if it wasn’t for the Evo-catching-fire-after-breaking-world-record episode, the boys from AMS would have had a weekend to remember. Although, I think it was a weekend to remember anyway.

2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sport back Edition

Since the debut of the Lancer Evolution back in 2006, we have seen the popularity of Mitsubishi’s all wheel drive sports sedan increase, however, it has always maintained the original 4 door sedan platform. This has allowed other automakers, like Subaru and Mazda, the opportunity to introduce a sport back version of their popular sport sedans with very good results. Last year, we saw the introduction of the Evolution MR and were intrigued when a rumor about a sport back version of the Lancer was in the works. With the success of the Lancer RALLIART edition last year, it was only logical for Mitsubishi to develop a Sport back version of the affordable sport sedan to compete in a market that is currently dominated by other Japanese automakers. The 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer RALLIART Sport back edition features a combination of the ever popular Lancer sedan and the Lancer Evolution, bridging the gap between the track and the daily driven roads.

Follow the jump for the full review.

Ralliart Ceases Operation, Mitsubishi Goes Untouched

Ralliart announces its officially closing its doors on April 1, 2010. No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke. In a letter to its customers, Ralliart Inc.’s president, Masao Taguchi blames the downward turn in the economy for the need to cease operations. Along with scaling down the business, Ralliart will also be ceasing its support to motorsport customers, stopping any new planning, development, and merchandising of Ralliart products, and discontinuing information of new products and web news.

Mitsubishi lovers will be happy to know that they will still be able to purchase the Lancer Ralliart and the Sportback Ralliart models. Maurice Durand, PR boss for Mitsubishi, said that the closure of the company will not affect the availability and the marketing of these models, as Mitsubishi owns the rights to the name and logo. He further explains that the closure is occurring with the subsidiary in Japan and that only companies that use official Ralliart products shipped from Japan will be affected. The Ralliart parts used for the models in the US are actually re-branded parts from another tuner.

Check out the full press release after the jump.