Rumours have been going around that Mitsubishi will kill the Evo high-performance car for the next-generation. The Japanese company has been under increasing pressure to plug falling sales and to produce environmentally-friendly cars. In the United Kingdom the Evo range is quite popular, and such rumours haven’t been taken lightly.
“Production of the current Lancer Evolution X continues as planned,” says Osamu Masuko, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's president and CEO. “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 markets 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.”
While Osamu san’s intentions may have been to quell these vicious rumours, the effect could very well be the opposite, given the fact that “to find a different direction for the Lancer Evolution model to evolve” could mean anything from planting a diesel engine in the Evo, to making it a hybrid. Such actions may as well be the silver bullet to take this fantastic performer down.
Nevertheless Mitsubishi UK has announced that a price reduction is now on the cards for people who fancy what could be the last of a dying genre. Entry level FQ-300 SST models with 224kW now start at £29 699 (R338 500).
Unfortunately two years ago IN4RIDE learnt that importing the car into the country would mean a retail sticker related to that of a Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG, which today goes for around R850 000 standard. Phew!
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