That would be a bad move for them. As all car models fade, so will they if they don't keep up. The older cars won't last forever, and their market will dwindle slowly. Eventually, they'll go out of business. *EVERY* business, regardless of what it does, must always be trying to increase its customer base. It would be suicide for a business to think it can just keep doing the same-old-same-old and remain profitable.

Ask AMS and Buschur how much DSM business they do compared to the Evo. I'll bet they bring in more money with the Evo platform now. They went to the Evo because it is where the enthusiast market went. They're in business to make money, and they can't do that if they sit on the past and think it'll never change.

As for who will blow up a new 4B11T, AMS and Buschur will. Seems to me they're the big names for Evo tuning. It is in their best interest to detonate a couple 4B11Ts. You can't know where an engine is going to fail first until it actually fails. They will push the 4B11T until it breaks. Then they'll fix it and push it again until it breaks again. Each failure will have a fix or preventative measure. Which means each time they make a 4B11T fail, they have a new product to sell (headstuds anyone?).

Look at the competition between AMS and Buschur now. They are at each other's throats on the 1/4mi vying for bragging rights on the fastest Evo. You think they're going to let the other take the crown on the new platfom? No way. You're going to stop seeing "World's Fastest Evo" and you'll start seeing "World's Fastest 4G63T Evo" and "World's Fastest 4B11T Evo". And when that happens, eyes will be on the 4B11T times, because the 4G63T race is now a matter of small increments. The new Evo platform will be the new proving ground for tuners.

Any business that sits around and lets the world pass them by, will die. That's a fact.

 

I hope your kidding right, as much as they're enthusiasts, they're also businesses, and businesses need to make money. I don't know if you read the BMW forums such as e90post.com, but people tuners have jumped on the 335i the second it came out. Vishnu's been tuning it since the day it came out and they're going crazy over there. Companies are flooding over to be the first to create new mods for the 335i, and its a BMW most of all. BMW's aren't exactly the most engine-modified cars, if you take a look around the forums, before the 335i came out, most of the moding was just looks (rims, exhausts for sound, intakes just for the sound, body kits) none of it was engine tuning, so if you're really thinking that they're not going to come out with any mods for the Evo X you're lying to yourself. Especially since all tuner companies know that the Evo has a large enthusiast base, its not like BMW where maybe 10%(if that) of the buyers that buy the cars decide to mod them (actually mod, I'm not talking about replica wheels and body kits), people who buy Evo's know exactly what they're buying, it wasn't as if they just stumbled into the Mitsubishi dealership and decided to buy an Evo because it was a cooler-looking lancer.

Edit: Damn, Draco got there before me, lol same point though

 

I wouldn't be so quick to say that. There were plenty of people who were willing to pay 40k for a Mitsu (Turbo Stealth/3000GT VR). When they first came out- there weren't many cars 'stock for stock' that were capable of man-handling them. Sure the MKIV supra, Z32TT, and FD3S, not to mention the NSX were out there, but they all had predecessors (dunno about the NSX). Sure mitsu had a prototype but it never saw full production and look how the 3S platform turned out.

If the performance is on par with other cars within that price-range, people will pay.

Look at it like this. Currently, The Evo is Mitsubishi's Halo car (Well it has always been their Halo car). So we have a 40k turbocharged, AWD, sedan that can pretty much outform almost another other saloon out there (AMGs excluded ). Sure you could get an AMG or some other piece of German engineering, but when you look at practicality, which one would you get for a DD? Well if you had the money for a AMG this wouldn't even be worth arguing over, but I don't think you 'average joe' could honestly afford the maintenance on those without having to worry about sacrificing something else.

A 40K Evo would be worth it- IMO- when you compare maintenance costs compared to other makes within that price bracket.

 

I agree with you 100%. But look at this way... AMS and Buschur got into the Evo world because they knew the 4G63. They already knew many weak links and everything you just stated. Not all of them, but you get the picture. A new engine may not be as worthwhile to them. That doesn't mean they will totally quit tuning and building new engines. That just means they may procede to other platforms that have much more potential or customer base.

 

didn't AMS start as a Ford tuner?

 

That's akin to just closing up shop and starting over. They have reputation and name value now. Honestly, if they throw in the towel the moment things get tough, then they aren't that great a company and I would be happy to see them go.

I'll bet AMS and Buschur already have a 4B11 from a lancer in their shops and are just itching to get their hands on a 4B11T. There's BIG BIG money for the bragging rights of the first tuner to do anything with the new car; first to 11 seconds, first to 300 AWHP, first to 400AWHP, etc.. If some noname tuner "Mythic Tuning" is the first to get an Evo X to 11 seconds, Mythic Tuning will also become the FIRST name to be mentioned whenever anyone want to go fast. AMS and Bushur will NOT like that as they have a vested interest in staying the first couple names on people's lips.

 

whoever thinks the X won't have aftermarket support from the existing major companies are the dumbest ****s ever.. sorry i had to say it

No need to explain why if you don't see it your just a dumb *** lol

 

Then those tuner companies will lose a lot of potential sales as Evo historically has been a tuners car. If they won't jump on the bandwagon, someone else will because there is money to be made.


What FACT? I do not recall Mitsubishi releasing price specifications for the new Evo X. If Mitsubishi will offer a bare Evo X a la current RS without navigation and with manual tranny, I don't think the new base Evo will be any more expensive than the current RS. Of course once you add navigation/DSG etc etc the price will go up but I am more than sure Mitsubishi will offer options just like they did in the new 2008 regular Lancers. If you don't want any of that high-tech stuff you can get a manual DE for about the same price as outgoing Lancer base model. I don't think Mitsubishi will release just one variation of Evo X with DSG and navigation only.

 

i agree

 

im with you i bought a IX b4 its too late

 

+1

I concur brother.

 

word

 

I agree. Not ditching the new X but when I think of rally street cars I think of a boxy 4 door car with a huge wing....not a hatch or something that looks watered down.

Maybe its because when I started getting into cars these where my favorite, but I don't think I'll ever find the new X better looking then the old school look.

 

+∞

 

You are spot on with your thoughts.

All the previous EVOs have been what they are in large part because of Mitsubishi's focus on WRC competition. The first EVO was born out of Mitsubishi need to build 2,000 cars to meet the FIA's homologation requirements to go rallying. From these humble beginnings, the EVO has grown to be a street going monster. Unfortunately, Mitsu's decision to put the WRC on the backburner (it dropped its WRC program for a while) has jeopardized the future of the EVO. Its glaringly obvious the composition of the new EVO X is not the stuff of a rally champion. For example, heavy 19" wheels adorned the "concept X". While it is unlikely such uneeded bling will make it to the production model, the fact that Mitsubishi even had these on the concept car is a statement in itself. Yes my friends, our beloved EVO is headed "upmarket". The EVO is about to suffer the same fate the Eclipse did back in 2000 when Mitsubishi decided to ditch the 4g63 and AWD in favor of a heavy V6 and FWD. Oh sure, the Eclipse still sells fairly well, but in no way is it the terrific sports car it was in its first and second generation. In the same way, the EVO will still sell but it will not captivate us as it has in the past. It no longer will be the hardcore race car we know and love.