While I believe that a diesel with the transmission you mentioned in a light platform would make a great car, I still believe there is lots of potential left in the 4B11T. Mitsubishi spent a lot of money in developing this engine along with Chrysler and Hyundai. Hyundai/Kia seem committed to the engine for the forseeable future. I just cannot understand why Mitsubishi would want to dump the engine after such a short run in the Evo. The 4G63 had a long and successful run in previous Evos as wel as Diamond Star vehicles.

I think the bottom line is that the current leadership at Mitsubishi is caught up in the green movement that is running rampant in Japan. Cars are seen as offenders of the environment. So, anything that can reduce the emissions' footprint is seen as good, even though from a business standpoint, it may not be the best move.

As I have preveiously stated a diesel hybrid is not necessarily a bad thing. Audi and Peugeot have demonstrated this at LeMans and ALMS. There is a tremendous amount of torque available. Power levels can be good as well given the right tune and parts. The next 5 years will be quite interesting to see which direction car companies will go. Seems like the American companies are not the least bit worried because they keep coming out with cars with bigger, more powerful engines running on gasoline.

 

e85 isn't so easy to obtain for some of us. The closest station to me is 30 miles away.

 

^ E85 is very plentiful here in Minnesota. However, given the reduction in subsidies to farmers for corn based ethanol, it would not be a wise move for Mitsubishi to have the Evo XI to be a flex fuel vehicle. I know that E85 can reduce emissions, but given the fact that prices will be rising, it would not be good to be tied to E85. Plus, as you said, there are many places where there is no E85 available.

I was reading in Road&Track that both American and European consumers are seeking more gas hybrids and fewer diesel options. There is something magical about mentioning electric power alongside a small, gas engine for people who are either environmentalists, or for the vast number of sheeple who buy into the global warming idea. I just wish that a couple of the leaders/engineers from the Ford SVT team and the GM Performance Parts team who could infiltrate Mitsubishi and give us an Evo that would be the envy of every tuner enthusiast. Imagine an Evo that weighed 3,000 pounds with 500 hp. I know I am dreaming, but still, it never hurts to dream...

 

I think its gonna be another sports car legend that goes down the drain because of the green movement. Sports cars are meant to be sports cars, not fuel saving engines that look like sports cars. But on the other hand there is a lot of untapped power in diesels due to emissions standards so maybe it can be an easy car to power up. Hopefully its the latter.

 

there are a lot of people in this thread who are truly ignorant to Hybrid Tech and especially Diesel motors. This thing is going to be bad ***, I just hope it's tunable. Power adders are going to be nuts, and with the Electric motor (100% torque throughout the ENTIRE powerband) this sucker will move.

And what is so bad about having a car that will still probably run 12's from the factory, sub 5 second 0-60 times, and get over 30MPG's? Everything goes through a change, if you don't like it just keep your car

 

The "Prius style hybrid" is not what I'm interested in. For a performance car KERs (Kenetic Energy Recovery) makes more sense. The tricky part is seamlessly integrating it into the braking system.

 

this is not a bad alternative either if some one doesnt like a new evo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZbffdYDpKg

 

I think you might just be a wee bit overly optimistic about running 12 second quarter miles. Nowhere have I read that the next Evo will be quicker than the current Evo or the Evo IX. The fact that Mitsubishi has stated that the next platform will be larger and heavier pretty much mitigates any possible performance gains.

I would be happy if the car is within a few ticks of the Evo X in 0-60 and 1/4 mile. One thing that should improve significantly is fuel econonmy, which is not a bad thing. The thing should be a torque monster with both a turbo diesel and electric motors. The one thing that could kill the whole deal is if the car is overpriced in let's say the 40-45K range.

The car has to be somewhat affordable for current Evo owners. I cannot see the car necessarily appealing to Camaro/Mustang/Challenger/370Z owners, so it will either be current Evo owners or those who have always wanted an Evo who will buy the car. The Evo is still a niche car, so it will be interesting to see how Mitsubishi markets it.

 

Maybe so, but you must admit that there are a ton of pessimistic people here comparing this thing to a Prius. I work at a Toyota dealer..and I can tell you they will be nothing alike apart from the hybrid tag. The prius is shy of 80hp and is the farthest thing from sporty imaginable. Anyone who puts this thing int he same category is truly ignorant or just trolling (and failing). I recently drove an Audi A3 TDI in Europe over the holidays and that was my first experience with diesel in a car. You could NOT tell then car had less than 150hp..felt more like 220ish and I got 45MPG. I can't imagine what it would feel like with close to 300hp and even more torque..STOCK. diesels respond better to mods than any other type of motor and that is a fact. Look at what some of these guys in the Duramax/Cummins/Powerstroke trucks are doing. It's literally nothing for those guys to hitt 800hp/1400tq..granted our motors will be on a smaller scale. I think a lot of the guys in here are just scared of change because they know nothing about diesels and/or electric motors.

 

It's not tricky if you have electric motors...

 

Personally, I am taking a wait and see attitude. Diesel hybrids have already proved themselves in racing and as you said, truck diesels are stump pullers. I would however be quite surprised to see a small capacity diesel [I read 1.6 liter] engine that would make more than 200 hp, hence my skepticism that the car would run in the 12's. It will take a coupling of monster electric motors to make the difference. The combined power could push power levels over 300. I for one am never afraid of the future as I have seen technology continue to come forward with amazing answers to tough questions. Given the fact that I grew up in the 50's, cars have come a long way. Technology gave us muscle car performance when everyone thought it was dead. So, if a diesel/hybrid pans out, all the better I say.

 

We'll see how this turns out. Kinda not happy. lol.

Glad i have my Evo IX

 

if you think mitsubishi is going to give you porsche type hybrid technology for 30k you need a dose of reality. i can see the mistsubishi vision already a 4000 lbs + refrigerator that sounds like a blender and will keep up with a prius. but it will have a evolution 12 tag on it. they are hoping the fanboys hop on it b4 they realize the mistake they made just like some many evo 9,8 owners had the same regret when they got rid of their cars for a block of cheese x

 

^ Well, since the current Evo is already close to 35k, who would ever say that the next Evo will be 30k? The next car will probably be closer to 40k for a base car. As for Porsche perfomance for that money, to a certain extent we already have it. Maybe not 911 GT3, but certainly Cayman/Boxter.

Your comment about the X being a block of cheese and that the last "real" Evo was an XIII/IX is just plain stupid. Smacks of an air of superiority as if owning an X should make one ashamed. Thumbs down to that comment. Finally, I absolutely hate your signature. You will never, ever paint your face with my blood or anyone else's blood on this forum. Egads man, what kind of a person are you?

 

interesting to see what looks like evo11 will be.im waiting