Autoblog

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I've recently had the misfortune of driving a new base-model Mitsubishi Lancer ES and was disappointed to discover that the materials and fit and finish inside have barely improved over the last generation model. The base Lancer is an inexpensive economy car, however, while the Lancer Evolution is its more mature and expensive big brother. How expensive? Well Mitsubishi has announced that it will be pricing the latest iteration of the Lancer Evolution from $34,000, which will get you the GSR model with a five-speed manual. The top-o-da-line Lancer Evo MR that comes equipped with Mitsu's new six-speed dual clutch cog swapper will base at... gulp... $39,000. Inside Line reminds us that the previous Lancer Evo IX started at $28,679, which is a long way away from the new model's base price. Hopefully all that extra cash goes into making the Evo's interior better than the base Lancer's. Keep in mind, this is preliminary pricing, and Mitsubishi says that it hopes to reduce the price of each model by around $1,000 before they go on sale.

Speaking of which, Mitsubishi also announced that the GSR model will be available to purchase next February, while the MR should arrive before the summer. Finally, the EVO has also received its official EPA ratings for fuel economy, which are 16/22 for the GSR and 17/22 for the MR.

[Source: Inside Line]

Our pulpy friends over at 2002 Hogback Road have gotten their hands on the latest version of Mitsubishi's Evo, the Evo X. Car and Driver's November 2007 issue has a preview of the Evo X, and they found that while the new car gives up speed to the outgoing model in a drag race, it kicks it in the teeth if curves are on the menu. Any car that can run a 13.8-second quarter mile is not slow, anyway. Consider that you get that kind of speed for a base price of $30,000, and 295 horsepower from two-liters is impressive. C&D's numbers are from the Evo GSR, and a JDM one at that, but changes for US-bound Evos are down to details.

Putting the 295 horsepower and 300 lb/feet of torque to the ground in a seamless manner is a bucketful of acronyms. There's a new dual-clutch sequential gearbox called Twin-Clutch SST that is bolted to four coordinated systems that get the overall descriptor of Super All Wheel Control. S-AWC combines a center differential with yaw control, stability control, and a rear differential with separate clutches for the left and right wheels. The structure is stiffer and lighter, and in the boy-racer arena, the Evo's always been a sweet driver, which hasn't changed. In fact, the character of the car has become a little less uncouth, which purists may cry about, but the rest of us will just giggle like schoolgirls as the Evo X replicates the video game experience IRL.

[Source: VWVortex]

Thanks for the tip, Chris!

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Over the summer, we reported on the UK-market's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX FQ-360, a car whose verbose nomenclature communicated the presence of a force-fed 366-horsepower 2.0-liter four under its bonnet. With its MR-style vortex generator on the roof, gigunda rear wing, carbon-fiber lip spoiler and rally-look five-spoke wheels, the FQ-360 looked every bit the tarmac carver that it was engineered to be.

Fast forward to January '07. Mitsubishi is laying the groundwork for the arrival of the next Evo, which was previewed with the appearance of the Prototype X at Detroit last week. Before we get too caught up in Evo X hysteria, we need to remember that the Evo IX still roams the streets, and that even when faced with imminent replacement, it's no shrinking violet. As such, Mitsubishi's UK division is bidding farewell to the machine with one final model: the Lancer Evolution IX MR FQ-360.

Its 2.0L engine is prepared by Ralliart and HKS, and while its output matches the 366 horses of the last HQ-360, this car's mill is said to be even more responsive. The FQ-360's 0-60 sprint is now an astonishing 3.9 seconds (vs. 4.1 for the last one). Top speed is 157 mph -- and that's an electronically governed number. In terms of appearance, the final edition MR FQ-360 looks like the car it replaces with some subtle changes. The five-spoke Speedlines are out, replaced by 11-spoke units from the same manufacturer. This time around, there's enough badging on the trunklid to let everyone know that this is the alpha dog Evo IX, and it's going out in style.



Full details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Mitsubishi UK]

Mitsubishi will debut its all-new Lancer sedan in the U.S. nearly six months ahead of its debut in the company's domestic market of Japan. Inside Line notes that the U.S. will be the Lancer's biggest market by far, and that the Japanese market is more interested in minicars at the moment than midsize sedans. Those two facts are the maini reason's behind the company's decision to begin selling the Lancer in the States first. The debut for the car in the U.S. is slated for early or mid next year, at which time we'll get a larger Lancer based on the Concept X and its many variants.

[Source: Inside Line]

As Esquire magazine appears to have forgotten to post its "10 Most Awesome Autos" feature from its May issue online, Terry Box at the Dallas Morning News has been kind enough to accommodate list fanatics. The men's magazine actually made a pretty good show of picking its 10 favorite cars under $50,000. No defining criteria other than price and editorial opinion appears to have been employed, so take these for whatever they're worth. In no particular order and without further delay, the envelope, please ...

• Lotus Elise ($42,990):
• Chevrolet Corvette ($44,490)
• Mazda 6 ($19,670)
• Infiniti G35 coupe ($33,200)
• Ford F-150 ($19,640 to $37,005)
• Audi A3 3.2 DSG ($34,700)
• Subaru Legacy GT ($28,795)
• BMW 3-Series ($30,900 to $44,900)
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ($29,149)
• Chrysler 300C SRT8 ($42,695)

 So, did Esquire get it right, or is it missing something? 

[Sources: Dallas Morning News; Esquire; Lotus]