2017 Tokyo Motor Show: Mitsubishi e-Evolution Concept teased

MITSUBISHI will tease a hybrid-engined performance SUV at October’s Tokyo Motor Show, called the Mitsubishi e-Evolution Concept.

Hinting that the Evolution badge will finally make a comeback, but not on a sedan, the “very high performance automobile” will “blend Mitsubishi Motors’ signature 4WD and electric powertrain know-how with advanced Artificial Intelligence technology under a low slung aerodynamic SUV Coupe shape”.

That potentially means an electric motor will potentially fill the low-down torque hole that highly strung turbocharged performance cars sometimes suffer from, but wrapped in a less athletic SUV form.

The Nissan Renault Alliance flagged when it took over Mitsubishi late last year that one of the first things it would do was to share electric vehicle platforms between the group. One of the reasons behind the Mitsubishi takeover was to tap the Japanese car maker’s expertise in plug-in hybrid drivetrains, such as those developed for the Outlander PHEV.

When it is unveiled late next month, the concept car is expected to use the Nissan-Renault developed Common Module Family platform that will underpin 70 percent of the alliance’s vehicles by 2020.

The alliance unveiled a plan last week that would see it roll out 12 electric vehicles globally within six years.

Mitsubishi has traditionally based the rally-hardened Evolution on its Lancer platform. The platform that underpins the current-generation Lancer was launched in Australia in 2007. Mitsubishi’s last Evolution, the Evo X, was withdrawn from the market in 2015.

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