Not a chance. I see the car, especially now that it's coming with SST, starting at around $26k, possibly $27. If they do release a manual version, that'll probably be in the $25k ballpark. As directorse7en said, the available options are pricey. Sun/sound adds $1,500, nav package is another $2,000 on top of that (these are based on GTS prices), and you can be sure it'll run another $1,500-$2,000 to add recaros + HIDs. Add it all up and you're looking at a as much as $32,000 (MSRP) for a Ralliart. People will buy that, though, because it'll have more comfort/luxury features than an Evo starting at $33,000, and probably get slightly better gas mileage.

 

23k - 25k, quote me. South Coast Mitsu will have them for invoice.

 

I think the estimates of $25k are pretty reasonable. A lancer GTS (currently the highest priced lancer model) is about $18,500 without transport cost. This leave Mitsubishi $6,500 to pay for:
-A different body kit
-AWD (with 3 diffs)
-Turbocharged motor
-An Evo X steering wheel
-SST Transmission

This seems pretty reasonable to me.

Then, you drop in the following packages: (prices taken from GTS options list)
-Sun and Sound (sunroof and Rockford Fosgate stereo system) - $1,500
-Navigation/Tech (FAST key, Navi, Mp3 hard drive) - $2,000

That brings you to $28,500 which leaves $1,500 for the remaining two options (Recaros and HIDs) before you break the $30k physiological barrier and get within $2k of an Evo GSR.

 

Uh...hold the boat. Mitsu press release made it sound like FAST was standard...

quoting directly...

Also...does anybody here have experience with FAST? If it's not standard, is it cool enough to pay for?

 

I'm going to be keeping my fingers crossed that's true.

Where do you guys think the license plate holder will be positioned at on the front bumper? In the center like most other cars, or off to the side like on the Evo?

 

Center..there's two little tabs on the lower grille.

 

Actually a starting base price for Lancer GTS with manual transmission is $17590 (without destination and handling) so Mitsubishi has about $7500 to play around to add in all the features to the base Ralliart model such as turbo and AWD, and I really don't believe that Mitsu will release Ralliart as SST only, if the Ralliart is supposed to be tuners dream then there has to be a manual transmission or maybe its a twisted Mitsubishi strategy that if you want to tune your car you need to get the GSR. SO maybe Mitsu wants to limit mods in the Ralliart by offering it with SST only I also wonder what kind of warranty will Ralliart get, will it be the Evo X (3yr/36K) warranty or the 5yr/60K bumper to bumper.

 

you also have to consider that the RA will share the GTS's wing and side skirts, the EVO X's steering wheel and SST, the EVO IX's drivetrain, and if it's a different turbo, mitsu makes their own turbos. internals are guaranteed to be a mix of GTS and EVO components.

so as i see it, almost NO R&D need be done, as it's just a bunch of mitsu parts stuck together. the smaller intercooler may be new but the only real new parts are the front grille and rear bumper.

no R&D, parts sharing, and target market (wrx price) makes 23-25 real believable!

 

Hmm, I have a feeling that your going to see a ton of these on the road. I've always seen more WRX and STi's on the road. The Evo's were always the rare breed.

Now that there's a baby Evo at a "why the hell not" price. You can bet these will be sighted often.

 

I've been noticing a lot of Evos on the road lately in the OC/LA area in SoCal. Haven't seen many of the late model WRXs though. I can't wait to get a RA. A nice gunmetal color with black-tinted windows. mmm...

 

In NJ where i Live now MISTU is mad rare the closest dealer is 35 min away ive only seen 3 evos in my time here

 

Not a ton of Evos here in Northeast PA either. Seems like Subaru has the market. Recently found out the one wingless "Evo" in my area is a turbo ES. So much for that one.

 

Well IMO, I prefer to own a car that's semi-exclusive. I like that we own a beast over many cars and is also rare.

It's better than seeing a Mustang every 3 minutes.

 

Here in the north-central NJ there is quite a few Evos driving around, Subarus outnumber them but it's no big secret that Subaru with STI/WRX has been longer than Mitsu with Evo on the US market, and there is plenty of dealers around me, actually like 4 in the miles radius area with one of them just being 10 minutes away from me.

 

Wouldn't surprise me if Mitsu didn't even touch the internals of the 4B11 engine. With the HP they're claiming, they're probably only running ~8-10 PSI, which the non-forged pistons in the 4B11 should be able to handle.