Truthfully, we’d just about given up hope on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ever making a comeback. With the Japanese manufacturer seemingly more interested in rebadging Renaults and building crossovers than revisiting its most legendary nameplate, there has been little to cling to.
Perhaps, though, we now have a lifeline, thanks to the ‘dream’ of one of Mitsubishi’s key engineering personnel.
As reported by Drive, Mitsubishi Engineering Fellow (his real job title, by the way), Kaoru Sawase has proclaimed: “We have a dream, of course, for Lancer Evolution. It’s my personal dream.”
We’re sure many high-profile engineers have dreams of making cars that will never see the light of day, but there’s more to it in the case of Sawase-san and the Evo. He further added, “We have a variety, a range of technologies on-hand”, when asked how feasible it could really be in the current market.
Those technologies would be almost certain to include electrification in some form, be that as a hybrid or a fully-electric Evo. Pushed on that point, Sawase-san stated: “Naturally, considering the global [environment], the times, that will be the direction that we will be going.”
It’s worth adding that if anyone has the knowledge to produce an all-wheel drive electric performance car at Mitsubishi, that’ll be Sawase-san. He’s known internally as the ‘Godfather of Super All-Wheel Control’, having originally worked on the all-wheel drive technology that has been deployed in previous Evos.
Of course, none of this guarantees that a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution will happen, but with its long-time rally rival Subaru recently showcasing how an electric WRX STI could look, there’s the potential for a revival of that rivalry. Better still, now that Toyota Gazoo Racing is established in the segment, we could have a legendary Japanese triple-header.
Would we ever see it in the UK? At this point in time, we’re doubtful, although Mitsubishi has stated its intentions to return to our market at some stage, albeit with “The right product line-up.”
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Ryan serves as Editor of Car Throttle, having joined in 2023. On top of making sure everything is ticking over, you can read his takes on the latest new cars, some ways to spend your hard-earned cash in the used market, as well as the occasional JDM deep cut feature.
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