Just read Motortrend or one of the auto magazines and it said the Evo8 will be here in Dec/Jan with about a $30k pricetag.
Quoted 265hp and best of all about 4000 units available.

So, i guess it means it will get sold out in 4 mths instead of just 2.

 

265 bhp? WTF? They detuned it even more as compared to the Evo VII!!! What the hell is thinking!

 

Don't worry about MotorTrend....They've been changing their stats on the Evo about twice a month since day one....

btw....the first shipment of Evos are pretty much all but spoken for.

even if it was 265....that's 10 friggin HP....nothin to get all worked up about. It can be fixed VERY easily. I wouldn't be worried about the HP so much unless yer lookin at the 220-240 range....then that'd suck, but 265....come on...jst relax a bit, that's nothin.

Hooby

 

Hooby.... the voice of reason in an otherwise crazy world

 

I do what I can

 

But you have to wonder if that is the true HP at the crank. Because if you take drivetrain loss in to consideration, about 24% for AWD vehicles that would equate to something like 201 WHP. As compared with a J-spec / Euro that puts down 247 WHP that
comes to about 320 HP at the crank, that's a BIG difference.

 

It's all rumors at this point.
Besides, it's easy to just turn up the boost as all the internals should be the same and you will get back the power easily.
Power wouldnt be a big deal for the Evo.

Oh yes, they also said that the mechanical center diff will be used instead of the ACD. Wouldnt make much of a difference unless you think the Evo6 sucks(It uses the mechanical diff)

 

There's something I dont get on this board when people talk about the numbers of cars going to be released. First they say "its all about the $$$$$" blah blah blah. And then they say that they want, and that the evo is, going to be in limited production car. I disagree, Mitsubishi is in the business of making money, I believe if the car jumps sales estimates as well as the WRX did, then they will keep making the cars to keep dragging in the money. Think of all the sales mitsubishi might lose if say I go to the dealership wanting an evo, and have to wait some amount of months. You'd have to be a pretty big enthusiast to wait (as most of us are). Or I could just go down the street and pick up any other fast sports car that I want in my price range. 350z, rx8, cobra, wrx, and so forth. I for one hope enough are produced so that I wont have to pay over MSRP.

 

Ra29, I'd like to see the article. Did they say it's from Mitsubishi? All of those are realistic and interesting numbers.

PS they better put acd, and ayc.

 

The article is in one of the Sep issue US auto magazines. Cant remember which one. I dont have it with me to scan it and no scanner either

It's the magazine that has the top 50 new cars or something like that. The Lancer Evo is one of them. There are also a bunch of other interesting cars.

Yea, Mekanikal is right.
I wont be surprised if the Evo production gets pumped up more, like the WRX. It just depends on how much capacity the Evo manufacturing plant has.

Man, i love the looks of the new RX8, 350Z and M3
Too bad the wrx has to be so fugly looking.

 

Like Hooby said, Motor Trend sucks donkey *****. But you must be talking about Automobile magazine since that is the only one I didn't get in the mail yet (I subscribe to 'em all ) and the others don't talk about the Evo.

You also gotta remember that magazines have at least a 2 month lag in their news, though Automobile is one of the best ones (not counting Autoweek and Automotive News).

 

It's the September 2002 Issue of Automobile Magazine.

50 Hottest Cars of '03
BY AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE STAFF
Special 40-page section: We preview and drive the most exciting and intriguing cars and trucks for 2003.

 

Can we be sure of this? The JDM E7 has all kinds of trick engine bits, hollow camshafts, magnesium valve cover, strengthened internals, etc. Why would sell the car in the US market with all those expensive parts if it only put out 250-265 at the crank?

The pricing of this car is going to be key to its success. As with the WRX, people have complained for years that it wasn't available here. Then when these wonderful cars show up, people start complaining about the price, "for that much money I will just buy a BMW" yada yada yada.

Mitsubishi will price the Evo very aggressively, count on it. So why would they leave all the trick bits on when it just shaves their profit margin and the performance of the US car in stock trim doesn't require it? Do you think they'll leave the bits so that enthusiasts can benefit when they modify the car? I doubt it!

I wouldn't expect to see the full blown JDM engine. Not that this matters too much. The Evo engine has proven itself very mod-friendly and even a de-contented version will produce big power with the right massaging. It'll just cost more $$$.

I'm more worried about the weight than the engine though. With strengthened US bumper beams, (possibly) no aluminium fenders, etc. how much will the E8 weigh in at? I would anticipate at least 30-50 lbs more than the JDM. All speculation on my part of course.

 

Once again the Evo VIII is said to be a tad lighter. They are trying to improve on the VII. Why would they make the VIII a worse car JUST because it is coming to the US? They want to offer a car noone else does. It has been said over and over again that they want the Evo to remain intact as much as possible...just look at the new bumper...it allows the VIII to pass crash standards and keep the fmic. This is going to be a "world debut" car and will be the "flagship" model of Mitsubishi. If you read into that itself..it says it should be what everyone expects.

 

I really hope you are right on all counts, but I will offer some thoughts anyway:

The JDM E8 is rumored to be lighter than the JDM E7. But how this will affect the US E8 is unknown. JDM cars usually have lighter bumper beams because Japanese crash test standards are not as tough as those in the US. So I think the US E8 will be heavier than the JDM E8, and possibly heavier than the JDM E7. Although, the lack of AYC and ACD might help keep the pounds down!

Mitsubishi is not making it worse because it's coming to the US. They are making it "worse" because they want to keep the price down. Think about it. If the car is rated at 250-265 bhp, why leave in all those expensive trick engine parts when (stock) they aren't needed? Why did they take the AYC and ACD away? Not to make it handle worse, but because they assumed that these items would drive the cost up too much. Enthusiasts like us might be willing to pay for such things, but the average buyer might not.

Yes, well of course "they" are going to say that. Mitsu wants to generate buzz about this car. What would you expect them to say? "Well we've had to strip out all the really trick parts to keep the cost down so the car will sell in teh US. So it's not half the car the Japanese version is, but it's still pretty decent." It's all about marketing!

And regarding the FMIC, even though the spy pics show it in there, I'm not betting the farm on it. I have heard repeated rumors of two SMICs.

I'm not going to read into anything except fact. Before the WRX came out, I read time and time again posts that it would have at least 276 bhp. But it was not to be.

Most dealers don't know squat, but they'll promise you the earth. I really, really hope you are right because I want to see the full JDM spec engine and I desperately want the weight to be no more than the JDM version, or at least no more than the E7.

But like I said, I am skeptical.