Mitsubishi considering Evo’s return despite SUV focus

This comes after the brand’s UK Managing Director, Rob Lindley, told blog site Car Throttle back in March that, “Mitsubishi’s focus is now SUVs, crossover, four-wheel drive, along with alternative fuel technology”.

“Mitsubishi has moved around different brand positionings, whether it’s been Spacestar style vehicles or sports car derivatives, Evo – it’s not had that clarity of focus. If you try and be in all the different segments of the market and follow trends, like sports cars, it would be difficult to be economically viable,” Lindley said.

Asked about the brand’s heritage of sporty models like the Evolution and the 3000 GT/GTO sports coupe, he stated that, “Having any kind of fanbase that has a huge following for a brand is always a massive asset because those type of customers drive other vehicles as well. They may love the historical Evos and sports cars, but there’s a good chance they have other kinds of vehicles in the garage”.

According to a new report by Autocar however, the Tokyo-based automaker is looking at a full-scale return thanks to it being part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

Based on the publication’s claims, the eleventh generation Evo will be based on the CMF-C/D platform that underpins models such as the Renault Megane and Koleos, as well as the Nissan X-Trail and Qashqai with engine size set to be capped at 2.0-litres and with a turbocharger like the previous ten generations.

While it will come equipped with Mitsubishi’s latest Super-AWC four-wheel-drive system, the mentioned engine will reportedly be the same as the next generation Megane RS, albeit with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that could boost power to 255kW/433Nm.

At present though, it remains to be seen whether the report comes to fruition when the all-new Megane debuts in about two or three years’ time.

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