Hey guys, I'm new, but been doing lots of research on the EVO VIII. Well, I called some dealer, I don't remember where they were located, but it was in the 845 area code if that helps.....
Anyway, first he says that they will only get one EVO & that one will be auctioned to the highest bidder, BS.... Next he tells me of this new " Mach EVO " that is coming out the same time as the EVO VIII. Now I myself never heard of this car, so I say BS. He then tells me that this car will be under $20,000 & will have some of the EVO characteristics. He didn't want to be anymore specific then that........More BS......Anyway just thought I share this with you guys as I have learned a lot about the EVO VIII & its history on this Forum..... I think its some BIG BS, but then again why would he just come out & say this, when I told him I never heard of the car, he siad " well, not many people know about it anyway".
Well, what do you guys say? Truth or BS......I would like to now...

 

He might be referring to the rumor of an upgraded Lancer coming out. Supposed to be inbetween a Lancer OZ and the Evo..

 

Perhaps he used the word mock instead of "Mach" as in a car that has some EVO characteristics, but isn't the full Monte.

 

I agree. See Psuedo. Faux.

 

I wouldent be surprised if they came out with some sort of lancer OZ with some ******** with 220 HP +/-, AWD, 5-speed that will compete with the Neon SRT-4 and the Subaru WRX.

 

Well that's good that you wouldn't be surprised considering the fact that they are already planning that.

 

tryandcatchme is right on. the jan 03 of motor trend (page 45)
sniffed out the same thing. mitsu is preparing a performance variant of the Lancer in between the OZ and the Evo 8.

 

See the thread on the 2004 Lancer rumors.

Consensus is that a car with that high of HP would more than likely go completely cannibalistic on the Eclipse, which is still a crown jewel for Mitsubishi US line. However, a possibility is a hopped up Lancer with the 2.4L engine from the basemodel Eclipse. Possibly in the range of 150-170 horsepower, which would be more in keeping with a Lancer equivalent to the Civic Si. Even rumors of fitting a MIVEC head unit to the 2.4L block. It's the most probable conclusion that some of us have come up with. I seriously doubt that we'll see a 200+ Lancer that'd lacking the Evolution badge, or an Evo's pricetag.

 

Am I the only one who thinks will use the dodge srt-4 engine in the new OZ to compete against the wrx? The srt-4 does do low 14's and i'm sure the new lancer is capable of that since the weight is comparable.

 

I don't know. There may be issues with how it's transmission/drivetrain/etc. works with the Lancer's frame. Just a thought, not a great one, but, just pointing out that there is more to a swap than what first meets the eye.

The reason that the 2.4L from the Eclipse seems like a fairly good bet is that it has been done on the Lancer frame with the Outlander. It is possible to do cheaply from a manufacturer point of view, although a swap would be quite costly from an aftermarket standpoint.

However, I continue to try and drive home that the Eclipse hasn't disappeared, and it's sales would more than likely be hurt by a Lancer with more than 170 ponies under it's bonnet, which I doubt is something that Mitsu wants to see happen. A 200+ Lancer would overrun the Eclipse for the same reason that the Evolution will probably be more popular than the DSMs. I mean, roomier, 4 doors, and hauls *** just as well, if not better. That's what you have to look at. Mitsu is a corporation, and when it comes to a decision between profits and enthusiasm, guess which one will win?

Okay, here's another way of looking at it. With an engine upgrade, the Lancer could make the performance division of Mitsubishi a three model line.

1) Evolution MSRP 29K(probably) 250-275 Hp.
2) Eclipse MSRP 22K (roughly) 210 HP.
3) Lancer MSRP 18-20K (possibly?) 140-180 HP.

That sounds more reasonable than putting the Eclipse at the bottom of the pack.

 

I don't think that Mitsu is worried about competing with the WRX, but more with more common cars like the SE-R.

 

I see your point.
We should still consider demographics and segment though.
The Eclipse is s sports coupe, the Lancer a "sports" sedan.
The demographics for the Eclipse have moved to a higher age recently. Granted the Eclipse RS sales may suffer a little, hiwever, the general Eclipse buyer will not likely consider a souped up econobox like the Lancer as an alternative.
The reasons for that are 2-door style vs 4-door utility. Most people still don't see 4-doors as sporty, regardless of performance.
That's why there are no 4-door Ferrari's...

 

Maybe he meant MOCK like mock turtle neck, just looks like a EVO?

 

By the way heres your 4 door Ferrari, was only available in Europe in very limited numbers

 

For anyones information I work for mitsu as atech and they send us to cypress all the time for training (corporate). from a reliable source wich i cannot mention we will get the evo at 275 the first year and possible full jdm spec (actuall 315) the second year. we will get a model in between evo and o.z.rally also but he did'nt know any specs other then a new lancer. the o.z. will get a 160 to 180 2.4 mivec engine to compete wilth cars such as the sentra ser, toyta celica, ect. wich makes total sense to me. we technicions where invited on dec 12 to a evo spec and service class and if anyone is interested i will let them know what they tell us or show us. i've been a evo fan since the evo3 and have been racing mitsu's since 1993. i know fix and modify are dealer cars and we sell them as a special packages. so i will try to post the most accurate info as possible, because alot on this site is incorrect.