Mitsubishi unveiled its Concept Sportback at the Frankfurt Autoshow. Seeing the photos of this car is one thing, but seeing it in person is another matter. The dramatic styling is impressive, and Mitsubishi's Europe chief made in clear that it will see the light of day as a slightly watered down production. Needless to say, it's sweet. It looks like it can scare little children and eat small woodland creatures.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
dna 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Everybit as "UGLY" as the Audi they copier!
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Sean Flanagan 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
That is one of the most dynamic rear 3/4 views I have ever seen. It looks like a cheetah ready to pounce on one of those aforementioned woodland creatures.
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CY 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Freaking hot. Best take on NSU-style grille yet.
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Billfred 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
The front end is great, but that rear end is a bit too odd. Hopefully that'll be the part they "water down" if/when it sees the light of day.
(Does anyone else see any Infinity FX in that badonkadonk?)
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Robert Aitchison 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Looks really impressive at least in concept form. What I want to know about the production model?
Will it have a performance model? I'd like >250Hp and maybe AWD (more power if it's heavier than it looks).
Will it at least have an option for a manual transmission?
I'm still not inclined to trust Mitsubishi as I'm not convinced they will exist in the long term.
I'm also inclined against them because of them doing thing like combing through Autocross web sites looking for evidence of people autocrossing their cars and then voiding the warranties of people who did. Of course the message they are sending here is:
"Blow your engine street racing the Fast & The Furious style and we'll replace it under warranty, but if your engine dies and 2 years ago you participated in an SCCA SOLO2 event and your SOL"
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FatPaulie 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Now *THAT* is what the next Lancer/Evolution should be.
*drool*
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John 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
This is a beautiful car. Finally, Mitsubishi is abandoning its goofy and ugly, pointy front beaks.
This is probably the best in show at Frankfurt. Yes, some will say that the new Gallardo Spyder is the best in show, but it's a lot easier to build a stunning car when the sky is the limit for cost.
As a side note: I hate to complain about Autoblog (which is probably the best auto site on the net), but does it really have to put its watermarks on these photos? It diminishes the experience a bit.
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James 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Are there any Autoblog readers in addition to me old enough to remember the late '40's and on through the '50's fastback model sedans from all GM divisions? Believe at various times all had fastback two door sedans; can't remember Cadillac's ever having, but think all other divisions also had at least some fastback four door sedans. Think fastback Chevrolets were "Fleetmasters" as opposed to notchback "Stylemasters". Can't remember designations of fastback models from other GM divisions. I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I always thought those various fastback GM models were the ugliest automobiles I'd ever seen. Had not thought of them in years until this current rash of fastback sedans - Mercedes, the Porsche & VW proposals, to slightly less extent this Mitsubishi concept, and believe I've seen concepts, proposals for such vehicles from other manufacturers. Guess another case of everything that goes around comes around again - if you just wait long enough. And these current day fastbacks are just as ugly to me today as those GM fastback models were 50 something years ago.
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james v 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
guess the new battlestar galactica is really popular in europe. a cylon raider sport sedan? yeah, i'd give it a shot.
-james
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Dusty 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
That front end screams intercooler!!! One of the best designs I've seen in a few years but I doubt it'll be the next Evo X. I wonder when they're going to preview that?!?
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Adam 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
I usually don't mind watermarks, but combined with the busy background and the silver paint it destroys the already marginal pictures. Can you move the mark to somewhere less obstructive?
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ZipperSeven 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
I like the overall concept they are going for. I agree w/ no.4 - it does look a bit like the Infiniti/Nissan Murano look to it.
No. 1 - I agree with you that the front end looks a bit like the current VW/Audi models but this execution is much better. It's what the new front ends should have looked like.
No. 6 & 9 et al - I thought the rumour was that this styling 'exercise' was what the next gen Evo is supposed to follow after (and share a platform with the upcoming Dodge Caliber/Rebel.)
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jef 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Infiniti FX on Atkins..
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Joel A 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
WOW. That front end is the "Tiburon" (meaning shark) that Hyundai should have put on their coupe. The rear, though....hmmm.
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ETMC 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Awesome. In my mind, more impressive than either of the two new Civic concepts.
We'll see how this translates into production....
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ben 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
man this car looks hot from the front. the back looks kinda alien-ish or something, kinda like the front of the euro alfas or something...i can't quite put my finger on it...it also looks like people in the backseat are gonna have really limited headroom because of the <45 degree slope of the back!
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River 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
sick. as. hell. i love this concept. it is one of the most cohesive, tight, agressive, and unique designs i've seen in a while. if they can bring about 80% of this style to the production car and keep it up with other models they will have a revival as strong as mazda has seen. why has mazda done so well? they already had the quality, but they did not have the style. this is a turning point for mitsu, and if they can execute on this they'll be around for a while. i'd put money on it if i was a betting man.
really my only beef with this concept is the headlights. i'm just not into the squinty led headlight look that's so popular on concepts these days. give me a couple of nice round lights with a strong enclosure shape. the pics of the evo x that showed up a while back have nice headlight clusters. aggressive shape, lots of personality, but with the classic double circles. why do you think bimmers look so cool? those headlights are brilliant (sorry).
http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000790055260/
as for the back, i think it's great. i think it manages to be strong and carry the aggressive lines around to the back, while still being elegant. and i love the fastback look, personally. i think it looks great on the mazda6, the last lexus is, the new mustang concept, all strong designs. but it's subjective, for sure.
above all, i think they have done something different by executing a design with such a strong forward-leaning stance here. not many designs take this route. the mustang has a bit of the in the grille, but not so much in the overall design. some cars look like they're moving because the body shape gets stretched and pushed towards the back--it's the wedge shape, rocket effect. this car looks like it WANTS to move, like it's chomping at the bit, about to pounce, as someone said above. which makes me imagine the mitsu designers feeling much the same way the last few years--just look at the recent lancers. ugh. set the designers free!
awesome. can't wait to see what they do with the production version.
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Jaymez 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
I think I played a video game that had this car in it back in the '80s.
Ugly.
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JustJase 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Mitsubishi- BUILD THIS!!! It looks far better than anything you've ever built. Everything you have not is BUTT UGLY!
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Rob 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Looks gorgeous. Im already saving for it! Gotta remember this is just the direction for the next Lancer, not yet the Evolution, which should see wider fenders and some other cosmetic changes. I'm confident Mitsu will stick close to this concept for final production, just like they did with the new Eclipse and its concept vehicle. Do you fellas have any interior shots?
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