Ok so we pretty much know what the EVO X is gonna be like performance and price wise... And most of us are not happy, but what abut the upcoming Ralli art Lancer? It will be cheaper than the EVO and it will have to be slower/cheaper than the EVO but faster than the regular GTS lancer but not too much more expensive...

So my question is how is MItsubishi going to market the Ralli Art such that it does not eat up EVO sales and stifle lancer sales?

I have a strong feeling that by the time Mitsu announces they release date of the new Ralli art they will be ready to offer the EVO X in more powerful engine options so as to widen the gap between it and the ralli art. So early EVO buyers may get screwed!?

One other issue I was thinking about is that the EVO already looks too similar to the regular lancer GTS but when the Ralli art comes out looking even more agressive than the regular lancer it will be even harder to tell it from the EVOs on the road... How wil mitsu solve this problem?

 

There have been a lot of conflicting reports about the new Ralliart, some say it will be a detuned to about 230-240HP Evo X 4B11T, some say it will be a small turbo 2.4l 4B12, and few other say that it will be just a NA 2.4l. Anyway, since Evo X will come out in early 2008 and Ralliart is supposed to come out by late spring I don't think you'll see any power upgrades to Evo X this model year.

From what I know is that Lancer Ralliart will have a basic AWD system (similar to the version of Evo IX) and a small turbo engine (2.0-2.4l) generating about 230-240HP, bodywork will be the same as Lancer GTS, it won't get the widebody of Evo X nor it will get aluminum parts of Evo X, basically it will be a turbo/AWD Lancer GTS. And it all seems to make sense at least from pricing point of view as all the mention upgrades should put the Ralliart in a $24-$25K (WRX) range. But no one really knows anything about it, Mitsubishi hasn't made any official announcement so all you will hear right now is wishful thinking and speculation.

Also, a side note, the US spec 2009 GTS will feature a NA 2.4l engine, maybe US Ralliart will use this engine with turbo application. Mitsubishi has decreased the warranty for Evo X to 3yr/36K miles bumper to bumper, if Ralliart will be based on GTS and offer a 5yr/60K warranty I think we won't see a detuned Evo X engine inside of it.

 

^^ interesting observations there.

 

Mitsu will make it fit in their line up the same way Subaru makes the WRX fit between the Impreza and the STI. Seems like it could be done. But, the Ralliart is destined to be a dog because less power and all that weight don't add up for stellar performance.

 

Ralliart is not supposed to offer Evo X performance or otherwise there would be no point in Evo X. Current GTS weights at around 3100lbs, add an AWD + turbo and you see a weight gain of about 200lbs to give you a total of 3300lbs. Remember Ralliart will not be based on US Spec Evo X but just a regular Lancer GTS, Evo X has an even more reinforced frame than the GTS, thats why Evo X weights more than GTS, even if you would take out the AWD from Evo X it would still weight around 3300lbs which is 200lbs more than GTS. It's all due to reinforced structure.

Anyway, a 3300lbs Ralliart with around 240HP would give similar performance numbers to the WRX which is not bad at that price point. Mazda 3 Speed will probably offer a better 0-60 time but then again Ralliart will be a better all-around machine.

 

That makes it sound like mitsubishi is just making the ralli art to fill some marketing gap.. but not really trying to win any awards or please too many consumers.. oh well. LOL

 

Here's the scoop.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/19/m...ncer-ralliart/

 

have u read this? http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2007/12...-ralliart.html

 

eddie beat me to it


however with the SST i cant imagine how the ralliart can be under $25k, sounds more like $27k, which is quite a bit more expensive than the WRX......

 

Actually I posted this link on forums yesterday ( https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...285833&page=23 ) and, I don't buy it, if Mitsu wants to place this Ralliart in the WRX territory, no way in hell will the Ralliart get the Evo X S-AWC (at least not in the $24-25K range), the DSG tranny can be an option though (probably will add $1500-$2000 over the manual version), and I also don't think Ralliart will get a detuned Evo X engine and if it does then it will be interesting how Ralliart will be priced and what will happen to Evo X sales.

EDIT: The article specifies a Mitsubishi Europe press release (but doesn't directly link to any official Mitsubishi press release) but I went to Mitsu Europe site and it is no where to be found: http://www.media.mitsubishi-motors-europe.com/ so my guess is that it's just some speculative BS.

 

^^^We'll find out in january when the production version is shown in Detroit. The whole idea behind the Ralliart version was to put the smackdown on the WRX, so I can't see them pricing it out of contention.
Should be a hell of a car either way. Motortrend tested and preferred the handling of the standard Lancer GTS to the WRX. It just didn't have the oomph to keep pace. The Ralliart should remedy this.

 

^^and which will again be mitsubishi overpricing heavy under powered cars... where is this all heading.

 

Well, reality is that all car manufacturers make heavy cars these days and are careful of placing too powerful engines and killing already stale fuel economy. Weight is the enemy of performance and fuel consumption and that is a problem entire car industry is currently facing It's not only Mitsubishi.

 

Interesting but did the EVO X put " the smackdown" on the 08 STI??? Mitsu need to hire some new product panning strategists

 

they are not saying that it will get the SAWD system but that it will be and AWD system with AYC and ACD, which is what the JDM IX used, enough for me to wait for the ralliart, as long as it has the same engine as X and comes with 5 speed tranny as standard, BAMMO