Is the New Mitsubishi Motors Vehicle an EV or a Sports Car

Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) sure has been one company to watch in the auto industry lately. All eyes are on the automaker, Mitsubishi Motors, with questions about what concept or production model will be revealed next? Back in May 2020, during a virtual presentation, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance discussed the new business strategies for the Alliance 2022 plan following the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mitsubishi Motors was also named the first automaker to release a new model from the Alliance, but other than what car segment it could possibly be in, there has been very little information to go on. It can’t be the AIRTEK, can it?

The AIRTEK is a new vehicle revealed as a production model from Mitsubishi Motors. Originally appearing during the Shanghai Auto Show, the vehicle was slated to be sold only in the Chinese auto market. This wouldn’t be the first time a vehicle starts in one country of origin and eventually goes global. However, this also wouldn’t be the first time Mitsubishi Motors ignores the demand for a certain midsize pickup truck – the L200 – in the states, so why should we get a new electric vehicle (EV) from the Japanese automaker? The AIRTEK isn’t too fancy, either, with one rear electric motor generating about 180 horsepower, spitting in the eye of even the Outlander PHEV with its two electric motors, and the Mi-TECH concept with four electric motors.

The auto industry isn’t bare when it comes to hints at what’s to come. Many automakers will just so happen to forget to camouflage a test model, or an insider scoop reveals the details or the name of an upcoming model. So when Mitsubishi Motors “uncovered” the lost concept art of the Mitsubishi Starion 4WD, a rally race car built by the automaker’s own Ralliart racecar performance team, fans kind of lost it.

Never before seen due to banning of Rally B cars after some unfortunate accidents in 1986 during the Tour de Corse rally, the Starion 4WD never made its debut during the British Motor Show. Following the record-breaking bid of £100,100 when auctioning off the last Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition in Europe, that which was quickly followed by the announcement that Mitsubishi Motors was going to resurrect the Ralliart team, there is a tiny glimmer of hope that we could be getting something we’ve all been waiting for – the return of the Evolution nameplate.

Mitsubishi Motors has been in talks of bringing back the EVO nameplate, made famous by the Lancer Evolution, another Ralliart model, but maybe not on a Lancer. During the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, Mitsubishi showed off its e-Evolution concept, a high-performance electric SUV that has seemed to disappear. Probably for the best, because there were also some rumors that the automaker was going to revive the Mitsubishi Lancer as a crossover, and we all know how well that went over when the Mitsubishi Eclipse sports car was brought back, also as a crossover. The sales figures, however, disagree, having sold over 40,000 units since its release to-date.

Regardless, all these hints can’t be ignored. Next, if Mitsubishi Motors needed any kind of sign that people want the Lancer back, just check out this modified Lancer Evolution IX, also from Europe. Featured in a video by AutoTopNL, an online car filming and testing company in the Netherlands, this Lancer EVO had a displaced engine, upgrading from a 2.0-liter turbocharged unit to a 2.3-liter turbocharge, comes with an all-wheel drivetrain, is able to generate 706 horsepower and 595 lb-ft of torque, and accelerate from 0-60mph is a little over 3.0 seconds. Just look how it handles high speeds on the Autobahn, the “road with no speed limit”.

If that’s not a testament of what the Lancer Evolution can do, then what is? It’s been over a year – Mitsubishi Motors, what have you got for us? Join the discussion on University Mitsubishi social media.

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