Rumors have long been swirling that the replacement for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution->ke2426 will be based on a compact crossover, but Mitsubishi->ke58 president Tetsuro Aikawa gave a little more insight about this upcoming performance vehicle.->ke506 While he didn’t reveal any actual details about the next-gen Evo, Aikawa confirmed that it would get some sort of electrification and stated that it would be the “king” of plug-in vehicles.->ke4486

Like the Lancer-based->ke1122 Evo, the future high-performance Mitsubishi will retain an all-wheel-drive layout, and it will be both lighter and faster than the production vehicle off which it is based. All signs are pointing to the new Evo being based off the next-generation Mitsubishi ASX,->ke3613 which here in the U.S. is known as the Outlander Sport. As for a timeline, Aikawa said this new performance model will arrive in the “far in the future” in his interview with Autocar. Such a time descriptor can be highly subjective, but this report expects the next-gen ASX/Outlander Sport to debut in 2016.

When it does arrive, this new crossover->ke288 should resemble the Mitsubishi XR-PHEV Concept that has been touring the auto-show circuit over the last couple of years, and the new Evo model should get a more aggressive design, possibly inspired by the 2014 Evolution Vision Gran Turismo Concept.

Continue reading to learn more about the next Mitsubishi ASX.

Why it matters

If Mitsubishi really is going to transform the next Evo into a high-performance plug-in crossover, than this model could be a true game-changer when it comes to affordable performance vehicles, which is something that automaker hasn’t been able to do in some time.

Mitsubishi ASX

Read our full review here.