And the value of my IX just went up even more. w00t!

 

+1 the car is going to be hard to mod..

 

eh... you just have to change the circuit braker

 

It didnt say anything about a turbo if I read correctly. So is the electric motors to replace the turbo?

 

so under high load situations, the evo will have a rear power bias. combine that with the next generation of torque vectoring... i could actually believe this will be the best evo in a lot of ways.

 

no need to be so fatalistic. it's a good thing that mitsubishi is putting a serious effort into making a performance oriented hybrid and that they're doing it early enough. here's the pun - the companies that don't evolve given the needs of the planet and the pressures of politics will go by the way of pontiac, saab, etc. tuner shops will be fine, except for those that don't continue to upgrade their skill sets.

and you may want to re-read the article. using the gas engine to drive the rear wheels will make this the most rear-biased production evo. outstanding fuel economy, rwd-like dynamics when on-throttle. can you explain how exactly any of these are bad?

 

this is all just speculation, but imagining the idea of a separate electric motor at each wheel (which i believe was how the miev was built, correct me if i'm wrong), is pretty intriguing. then, with a system that measures all the inputs etc like how s-awc does, the car could literally apply a different amount of power to each wheel. the implications for handling are impressive as you'd imagine.

still, like i said, modding is the only thing. it's a huge part of the evo culture, and i'm really not sure if we'll be seeing any 500whp cars from a new hybrid generation.

 

I am not intending to be fatalistic at all. Saab and Pontiac have the misfortune of being owned by GM, that's why they're going under. Among engineers and business majors alike GM is looked at as a joke for they're management and engineering practices.

I'm all for a new rear wheel bias competitor within a reasonable price range (a new Noble anyone?). The other concern I have is that the electric vehicle technology just isn't there currently. Batteries still weigh a ton, motors weigh a ton and driving range is in the toilet. 2 hours of drive time for an 8 hour charge...doesn't sound too inviting. Affordability is another concern; batteries and motors aren't cheap. Everyone *****es an moans about emission standards but take a look at the new 911 turbos and the leaps and bounds they've managed on their emissions still running pump gas. Sure they cost more than an Evo and are definitely out of my price range but you'll be dumping the same amount to upgrade 2 motors at a time in a hybrid "tuner" if you can even call it that anymore.

Also.... take a look at the bigger picture. These gov't idiots are pushing emission standards on vehicles yet the electricity is still being produced via conventional means... i.e. burning fossil fuels. In the end the pollution output is just diverted to a new location but it's still there.

 

democracy isn't perfect. even an ad-hoc set of solutions to not destroying the planet/ not transferring our wealth to OPEC is better than just guzzling gas till it runs out, then watching economic activity collapse.

be realistic, though. no one has any idea how much it will cost to mod an evo 11.

i sincerely hope that mitsubishi will continue to push the awd platform further than everyone else. there is a lot of potential with electric motors, to include torque vectoring. an electric motor/s could be the means to implement the active driver's aids that we got a hint of back in 06 (maybe 07?) in sport compact car.

 

This is a great example of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Mitsubishi has done this before. The Eclipse was the best selling sport compact for a time. They went to the 2G, the car eventually stagnated, and it fell off in sales.

The VIII comes to the US, and its hardcore and really pure, albeit a bit dumbed down from overseas. The IX is better. The X is a bit of a fall back as far as weight is concerned, but at least it has SAYC now.

But given the bad economy and a lukewarm response at best to to the X, Mitsu is reacting the wrong way. You should never make your halo performance car into a hybrid. IMO, it is the very epitome of failure waiting to happen. The power will increase, that's nice, but the car is going to get substantially heavier with a second engine.

To me, Mitsu should look into making the car lighter, the engine a bit more robust.

But I don't think this will resonate with Evo enthusiasts, and sales continue to fall off. Its also likely to have a pretty serious increase on price.

I'm not saying Mitsu should not try with this car, but to make it an Evo is risky indeed.

I also hate that the environmentalist mindset is trickling into everything in the automotive world now. Leave our performance cars alone!

 

America's a republic... not a democracy

It's not gonna get cheaper... 2 power plants = 2x the upgrades + 2x the work
Pretty simple math if you ask me.

 

But if there is a turbo will it really be that hard to mod, maybe it would be safer for then just to go with 400 + Hp from the get go, even if it cant be modded it would be enough to suffice our power needs.

 

america is not a democracy? ORLY?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic - here is an excerpt, notice the specific use of "democracy" twice:

"In the United States, Founding Fathers like James Madison defined republic in terms of representative democracy as opposed to only having direct democracy"

as for things not getting cheaper - well that really isn't insightful because prices inflate over time, which everyone knows.



Noize: exceptionalism (the "this should apply to everyone else, but just not me in this instance" attitude) is the reason that everybody now has to turn to serious measures to get problems, like the environment and energy dependence, under control. i am glad that there are some people that refuse to keep kicking this can down the road. i very much hope the environmental mindset continues to disrupt the car world. without it, GM would still exist as it did pre-2008, selling suburbans to families of 1, having about 5 brands too many, and with all of its myriad inefficiencies.

with "environmentailsm" there could be some outstanding results for enthusiasts -
-serious control authority at individual wheels via torque vectoring, not just adjusting how the front and rear wheels are coupled, not just splitting existing torque left and right at the rear

-immediate power delivery (low speeds with big change in throttle position such as around town driving. OR compensating for momentary turbo lag. the drivability of a larger displacement motor with the weight/ economy/ packaging benefits of having a smaller motor)

-fuel economy. which isn't very exciting around here, but when i'm not actually sliding my car around, i don't want to pay for fuel as though i were sliding the car around.


anyhow, if mitsubishi is reading this, keep doing what you're doing. my IX RS isn't going anywhere soon, so i'm excited to see an evo that is significantly different. and it's good to get out in front of this problem before the evo goes the way of GM.

 

i think more like the citroen then Porsche

pics:
http://green.autoblog.com/gallery/ci...rc-hymotion4#7

link:

http://green.autoblog.com/2008/10/02...rid-rally-car/

 

With the X, Mitsu gave the Evo enthusiast a car he never really asked for. In an effort to combat poor sales and to expand the platform's appeal, Mitsu released the 3900lb (per R&T) MR-T - another car the Evo enthusiast didn't want to buy. Are they bringing over a lighter, sport-oriented model that can actually sell? No. They're going to shift to a hybrid, yet another Evo no one is itching to park in his driveway.