Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Mitsubishi working on 500-horsepower hybrid Evo?

Until reality sets in, we'll settle for this report about Mitsubishi building what can only be described as one super plug-in hybrid. The Japanese automaker, per UK's Autocar, is working on a version of the Lancer Evolution that would take on the Nissan GT-R.

Specifically, Autocar, citing what it says are "highly placed Mitsubishi executives," says the PHEV would pair a 2.0-liter gas engine with two 80-horsepower electric motors to provide an awfully impressive 500 horsepower along with fuel economy of 150 miles per gallon (per the more lenient European driving cycle) and an all-electric driving range of as many as 40 miles.

Mitsubishi would use some of the technology employed in the MiEV Evolution II plug-in that raced at Pikes Peak this year, and while we don't think it'll look quite like that car (pictured above), we can dream a bit. Remaining an issue for Mitsubishi plug-ins, car execs say, is the continued lack of consensus on a fast-charging standard in the US, as Mitsubishi and Nissan continue to push for the CHAdeMO standard while US and European automakers bang the drum for the so-called SAE/"combo" fast-charging standard.

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/07/24...er-hybrid-evo/

I8ABMR

what they need to do is make a car that actually sells in this country. They are life support and they want to develop a car that will be the lowest volume seller? crazy. I welcome it but I dont think its a great decision until they get their house in order at Mitsubishi. I thought I read somewhere that analyists were projecting that they will leave the US sooner than later

Whitigir

If they do make this car happen with 500 HP and 100+ empg and pricing at 50k. M buying it

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

evos live on

dmvp29

The Shelby GT500 starts at $55k IIRC and has 600+ HP. 50k could be do-able for a comparable brand like Mitsubishi.

spwolf

what does 100+ empg mean? Nothing

It will likely have 15 mile range max, just to fool the various fuel consumption tests around the world.

spwolf

they are probably going to :-).

Mitsu is bigger than Subaru worldwide. They dont have a good strategy though.... they released their subcompact and it is pretty bad, nobody cares for it... their mid-sized SUV is also nothing great... only great car they have is ASX right now and Lancer is very very old.

mmarshall

Well, they probably won't live on for long. I don't think, despite its assertions to the contrary, that Mitsubishi will be in the U.S. much longer.

Initial B

iTrader: (2)

I hope they make it in the US...they are one of the very few car companies that do shift paddles correctly - on the column, not on the damn steering wheel. Infiniti and Ferrari are the only other 2 that I can think of.

Blackraven

Slightly off-topic:
In addition, I think Bentley mounts their paddle shifters in the column (for their Continental GT line and Flying Spur)



For the Mulsanne though, these are mounted on the steering wheel itself

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

now there's some quality materials I can't b**** about

mmarshall

Why do you say "correctly" on the column? If your hands are where they're supposed to be during sharp cornering (on the wheel), the paddles are generally easier to reach if they actually rotate with the wheel itself, not hang stationary on the column.

Initial B

iTrader: (2)

my RDX has them on the wheel. When making turns, your hands often do not stay where the paddles are located. Think sharp turns, such as intersections, u-turns, etc. Daily life. I often have to wait until the turn is almost over (and the wheel is centering) to upshift, at which point the RPM's are getting up there. Or I have to upshift with my left hand to tap the right paddle. Not the best design, is it?

Paddles on the wheel make perfect sense on race cars/F1 cars, because the turn-to-lock is so much tighter, but this is not the case on street cars.

I recently drove an FX35 with paddles, and it was so much better...the paddles are always there when you need them, regardless of where you are in the turn.

gengar

I agree. Especially since this isn't what anyone wants. The Evo has been an enthusiast line since the get-go. Does any enthusiast really want a plug-in hybrid that's heavier, less interesting, and more expensive? They've lost their sense of direction and that's their real problem as far as staying relevant and profitable.


I've made this point before on this forum. For any road car that's ever going to be driven on the street, columns on the steering wheel are the way to go. In a race car like an F1 car with steering ratio probably somewhere around 3:1, wheel-mounted shifters work. That's not the case on road-going cars. To put it in perspective, the 458 (which has among the lowest of any current road-going cars) is 'all the way up' at 11.9:1.

This reason is also why there is a disconnect between the preferences of road car reviewers (e.g., TV show presenters, magazine writers, blog/youtube guys, etc.) and race car drivers. Road car reviewers with almost no exceptions prefer column-mounted paddles. Race car drivers are born and bred in race cars, so they've always had the wheel-mounted shifters.

BTW, Lexus does make one car with paddles on the column. Scott Pruett, being a race car driver, prefers wheel-mounted paddles. He told me the LFA's column-mounted paddles are just one of two things he doesn't like about the car.

Vladi

There is no 500hp Evo. Heck there could be no Evo altogether, chances of that car having an Evo badge are equal of having GTO badge, but no matter how it ends up being named it won't have 500hp.