Autoblog

click either image for more shots of the updated 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Mitsubishi has seen fit to bestow upon us a whole slew of new high-res images showing the updated 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT and Eclipse Spyder doing their groove thing on the road. As we mentioned last week when we previewed the vehicle, the styling changes are evolutionary and include a new front end housing a blacked-out trapezoidal grille that mimics the maw of the Lancer Evolution, as well as a blacked out rear apron where a new dual exhaust system peeks out that provides the car's V6 with another 2 horsepower and 2 ft-lbs. of torque for a grand total of 265 and 262, respectively. We actually dig the new grille and think it works well with the already established body style of the Eclipse, and more power is more power (i.e. a good thing). But it's tough to overlook the fundamental flaws of the Eclipse, which include being a heavy front-wheel-drive coupe that shares a lineage with a certain much-missed all-wheel-drive, turbo-four pocket rocket.

[Source: Mitsubishi]

The small Mexican village of Cancun is a well-known party destination for young adults on spring break, offering a multitude of things most excellent. Eye candy in bikinis and surfer shorts (take your pick) sip on margaritas made with hand-squeezed lime juice and 100 percent agave tequila at a fraction of the price of the libations they choke down up North. In Cancun, sunny, 85-degree days on the beach end -- or start, depending on your perspective -- with never-ending dance parties so crowded you're not sure who you're dancing with. Sprawling hotels offer deals on everything from deep sea fishing to golf, and ancient ruins are just a day trip away for the brainiacs and history buffs in the group. Paradise on Earth.

After a week of excessive partying and far too little rehydration, however, realization dawns for all but a select few who were truly meant to reside in the beautiful but energy-sapping locale: Cancun is a fabulous place to visit, but most people wouldn't want to live there.

So goes our story of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT. For those who were truly meant for this car and vice-versa, it is a dream come true. "Attainable exotic" is more than a buzz phrase pushed by Mitsubishi's marketing guys. For the rest of us, however, we're thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit and would certainly like to go back one day, but it's just too much of a good thing for our modest lives.

The next logical progression in removing unsprung weight will finally be made available to U.S. enthusiasts. Rennworx Ltd., a company that imports a variety of top dollar rims and parts, has agreed to bring Dymag's full lineup of custom carbon fiber rollers. Their products have found their way into the wheel arches of some top dollar machines, including Ascari, Mosler and Koenigsegg.

Beyond the subdued bling factor, the new wheels provide a number of dynamic benefits, including improved acceleration, braking and steering feel, the ability to allow softer dampening settings and the capability of dissipating heat more efficiently than conventional forged or cast rims.

Cost? This is one of those instances that if you have to ask, well, you know the rest.

Click through for more pictures, including a nicely modded 4th generation Eclipse equipped with said wheels, and the full press release.

[Source: PR Newswire]

Alright... so you've openly lusted after the performance envelopes of road-bound rally cars like the Subaru WRX STi and Mitsubishi EVO IX MR, but you can't get around their frump four-door roots, or their look-at-me aerodynamic addenda. So what's keeping the two firms from building a lighter, more lithesome coupe?  Mitsubishi has little excuse, as it already has the rumptastic (if overweight) Eclipse in its fold, a car that was once upon a time known for its turbocharged hooliganism.

Subaru, however, doesn't have the same luck-- the last time it did a two-door coupe, the interestingly-styled SVX, it was an overweight, slow-selling cruiser, not a true performance car. So while enthusiasts have waited around for some time for the boys and gals at Fuji Heavy to pack their winning mechanicals in something smaller and sexier, it's taken the WRC wizards at Prodrive to deliver.

Seen here is the P2, a car that's been hinted about for some time, and Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear is the first scribe we know of to drive it... as well as suffer its ill-effects.

Based on Subaru's diminutive R1 supermini, but packing the drivetrain from the WRX STi with a bigger turbo, and the attractively 'New Edge with chunk' styled P2 puts 345 brake horsepower worth of smack down. The net-net? 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds, and a top speed of 174 mph.

Better still, Clarkson figures, is the handling. The engineers at Prodrive have not only figured out some sort of indescribably complex anti-lag system for the turbocharger, they've gone and developed a driver-adjustable active center differential. While the latter trinket doesn't sound terribly different from a bog-standard STi's piece, the Subaru's is essentially a mechanical system, while the P2's is supervised and informed by all manner of sensors, including yaw, throttle position, and so on. The end result is a coupe that can be neatly tailored for the demands of the road and the driver-- safe as houses understeer, or tail-out antics. It all works so well that it makes Clarkson sick-- literally.

Sadly, according to JC, ProDrive has no plans to put the P2 into production. 

[Source: TopGear via YouTube]

Mitsubishi has thrown down the gauntlet. If dealers can't sell its new products like the Outlander and Lancer, the company may pull out of the United States completely. Mitsubishi's product boss, Shinichi Kurihara said as much at a press event, indicating that the company's recovery rides on the success of the vehicles. The company is down 16.5 percent to 36,536 units so far this year, and its Normal, Ill. plant employs just one shift. Predictably, dealers have responded by urging Mitsubishi brass to open up their wallets and spend more money on advertising here in the States.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi's May sales figures just arrived and the company posted a 3.9-percent rise in sales over May of 2005, which follows an even stronger 17.5-percent improvement last month over April of 2005.

[Source: Automotive News via AutoWeek]

(Thanks to Emulous1974 for the tip)

Mitsubishi Motors has announced pricing for its 2007 Eclipse Spyder convertible. The Spyder, based on the coupe released last year, will be offered in two trims: GS and the GT. Pricing for the GS, which employs a 162 horsepower, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder, starts at a steep-sounding $25,389. The GT, powered by 260-horsepower, 3.8-liter V6 engine, bases at $28,269. The GS comes with a standard 5-speed manual transmission, with the GT gaining an extra cog. Optional four and five speed automatic transmissions are available for an additional $900.

The Eclipse Spyder is arriving on dealer lots now.

[Source: Mitsubishi Motors via PRNewswire.com]