What some people fail to realize, is that the EVO 11 will stick to its original formula. Its already been hinted the next mazdaspeed3 will have more power and possibly awd, The next ford focus RS wil come here priced to compete with the subaru sti and have around 350hp, the next impreza wrx will have more power and a 6speed manual trans. from the factory, and the next STI will get a power bump and will possibly get a dual clutch along with a standard revised 6 speed transmission, and many think it will be rawer and faster than its previous versions, while maintaining its . Mitsubishi knows what people want ( NOT hybrids, especially for performance cars) and bargain price, which mitsu has lost over time on evos, which is why there selling poorer than ever. Mitsubishi has already stated the next lancer will be smaller than the current, but a little bigger than the previous gen., so the next evo will be perfect for a gas turbo engine. If mitsubishi DOES make a hybrid evo, they are the dumbest car maker there is. Not only will nobody buy them, they'll loose alot of customers to subaru and maybe even ford if the RS comes here. We should get details on the next lancer and maybe evo soon.

 

mazdaspeed3 will not have any change until the new RX8 or RX9 come out.
STI already have a auto transmission since 2008, they just do not bring them in North America after the year 2009. They loss quite a lot customers by this action as there is absolutely a market.
Speaking of hybrids, I have no comment until the car comes out.
However, the fist hybrids car that they bring in to North America do not selling good at all. Powerful hybrids exists, but I can't see how mitsu could improve a normal hybrids system to a powerful hybrids system in just two years.

 

actually, its believed the new mazdaspeed 3 will be out in 1-2 years depending on when the new 3 itself gets revealed and hits our dealers.
The next rotary sports car that mazda will make will not be a rx8 or rx9, but it will be a rx7, which should arrive some time from now in 2017, and is "expected" to be lighter, more powerful, and more efficent. There are some automagazines saying it will be priced between the 370z and GT-R, but im calling BS on that , as i think it will be priced to compete with the Z of its time. and i guarentee the next evo wont be hybrid, mitsu got a raw awakening when they noticed the imiev or whatever the hell it is are there worst seller in record years.
HYBRIDS translated to

 

EVO 11>10>9>8>7 ETC. I can't wait for the Evo 11. And if it's better than my X I'll trade that ***** in faster than a one legged bald wife for Jessica Fox.

 

iMIEV is selling extremely poorly in the US. The car is butt ugly, under-powered, overpriced. and cheaply made. WTH is Mitsubishi thinking? I visited 4 different dealers in Miami when I was shopping for my Evo a couple months ago, and they all said the same thing: " we have not sold any". When Ferrari's are a more common sight than a hybrid vehicle, something is very wrong! I think Mitsubishi is in for a rude awakening if they think we want bulbous electric roach-like cars no bigger than a golf cart, and as expensive as an Evo.

Frankly, the emissions issue is a valid one and it's great Mitsu is addressing it in the XI, but no one buys a sports car expecting 40 MPG. The focus should be on improving performance and handling and giving us decent fuel economy we can live with like 25-30 MPG. They want to turn Evo into some hybrid Frankencar that is heavy, laden by batteries, difficult to mod, expensive to maintain, and edging $50K.

The President of Mitsubishi Motors at one point was considering scrapping the Evo and that is troubling. That would be akin to BMW dropping the M cars. Time for new leadership in Japan or this company will go the way of the Do Do!

 

When they make the Skyactive thing, I thought they would bring a new shape of 3, but they did not. The current is good, but I hope to see some new looking. I don't thing they will make speed3 into AWD as its market is different, although some people like to compare it with STI and EVO. The main competitor should be other FWD turbo car like Golf and Focus RS. Mazda did not developed much in AWD technology although they have it. Anyway, the 3 is very fast in straight road and nice weather. I admit that.
In summer, the STI said "Wait for me!!!". In winter, EVO says "O come on, move faster!!!"

For the next generation RX8, I heard a lot of new that they will try to make something close to RX7. However, they will probably name it RX9. Just a name, no big deal. I saw a concept car in the newest car show. That car is beautiful. Not bad if they make it to be the new RX9.

 

AMEN
you couldnt have said it any better

 

ive been hearing its going to be the return of the rx7. a few car magazines reported that a mazda offical confimed it to a euro car magazine writer. i love the old rx7, would like to see a new one with the previous gens styling cues, 300+ horsepower, and priced under 30k. One can dream, right?

 

Like sports cars, hybrids are purpose-built vehicles. While attempting to marry performance with fuel efficiency is admirable, it may dilute what makes the Evolution unique. My hope is that Mitsubishi can improve fuel economy and reduce emissions without sacrificing performance, handling, and tune-ability- hallmarks of the Evo.

Ask yourself why you bought this car and what was it designed to do, review current Mitsubishi plans, and a clear disconnect emerges. Current owners and potential buyers want *****-to-the-wall performance and handling, ease of maintenance, aggressive aesthetics, versatility- all at reasonable prices. What they don't want is more weight and complexity, increased maintenance costs, and a higher sticker price.

IMO, Mitsubishi is making a huge blunder by electrifying power train and adding more weight to XI just to align it with current corporate plans. Look to Ford for what happens when a manufacturer listens to it's customers, look to Saab when they don't. Without the Evolution, Mitsubishi Auto is irrelevant. First mistake was to abandon rally car racing and development, the second was to stray from car's original design mandate, the third will be to bastardize Evo for the sake of fuel efficiency. Will the fourth be the nail in the coffin for the Evolution?

Yes, the Evolution has always been about innovation and bleeding edge technology, but we are now at a cross-roads in the auto industry and the next turn may be the last for the Evo- as we know it. Tread lightly Mitsubishi!!!

 

Yes, rx7 is a great car, but I like the appearance of rx8 as well. So sad that the performance of rx8 does not match the aggressive outlook at all. I thought they would have improved it, but they never did. I have the same feeling every time I see a BRZ or FRS. No one go to track everyday to drift a car. I need more power and torque to enjoy my car in daily driving.

 

Look at what mitsu did to Pajero, and you can foresee how EVO goes in the future. They ruin the best dakar rally car Pajero, and now may be the little brother EVO, too.

 

IMO, the root cause is a lack of leadership and vision at Mitsubishi corporate. Mitsubishi is a small car manufacturer trying to carve an electric vehicle niche in a crowded hybrid market dominated by giants like Toyota, Honda and Ford- good luck! Worse, it's first effort, the iMIEV, appears to be nothing more than an ugly expensive dud. Instead of embracing it's rally heritage and further expanding it's performance portfolio, current management has chosen to build more of the same "me too" automobiles. It's hard to believe the same company that gave us the Evo, an engineering marble, designed the iMIEV.

Look, I have nothing against going green and building fuel efficient cars; Tesla and Fisker are doing it successfully in the high-end hybrid segment. However, when you sell cars for 35-45K using the same recipe, Mitsubishi will make many compromises and therein lies the problem. For the Evolution, one thing you can't compromise is performance by diluting design or straying far from it's rally heritage to make car more efficient. Doing so is tantamount to automotive harikiri and a sure way to lose it's performance customer base.

It's time Mitsubishi corporate gets it's collective head out of it's green *** and grows some performance cojones. No wonder Mitsu dealers have more salesmen than customers- they are clueless..

 

The 1993 RX-7 has an msrp of $31,000. In today's money, that's nearly $50k.

 

Good points, netjoy.

Back to the car show topic. I think mitsub didn't really put enough effort on the new concept car. The only concept car they have is the new Outlander. The brand new outlander has improved the interior, but I think the exterior looks ugly personally. The front might be ok, but I still like the current Outlander.
The previous generations of Outlander always follows the change of EVO. I can't imagine how the XI would look like if they build it like this Outlander.

 

the Pajero was actually SUV from day 1 till today, nothing special about it.
Here are some things I want to point out about Pajero:
1. The only radical thing was ladder frame chassis changed to unibody on gen3 pajero(that chassis in modified way is still running today, talk about milking eh?)
2. adds up to no.1 Pajero being sold today is nothing else than old Montero you've had in states, massive restyle and swaps to more modern engines, electronic pump diesel was swapped for common rail injection, 6g75 got MIVEC
3. European displacement mistake, a lot of European countries are HARSH on displacements, difference in some countries you would pay for 299X and 300X cc's are big you will immediatly scratch that car from your list, that very momentum, Pajero is that kind of car, cause of HAVING 3.2l I4 diesel and 3.8l V6 petrol engines as only line-up, unless you can afford premium like registrations or use this car as a commercial van-like vehicle its ill advised to buy it(you must understand that things aren't same like in US and that yearly registration of this kind of car in some countries goes up to $1500(I am going a step forward and measure standards of US and average development European country and say that those $1500 in that country are somewhat equal to the power of $3500(OR even more) in US, not cheap really) per year+insurances.
4. If you ever meant on Dakar Pajero, it was limited edition like Galant VR4 was in US, 500 or 2000 units and that was all, commercial failure to me. It had nice powerplant also.

Pajero lives on Dakar heritage and Mitsubishi 4x4 reputation it has in rest of the world. Even tho L200/L200 based Challengers are more versatile 4x4's.
Anything else to ask?


BTW: In person new Outlander looks modern and good, I wouldn't call it ugly right from start based from pictures. Tho I hate removing MIVEC from those diesels ;_;