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CAR SUMMARY
New for 2009, the Lancer Ralliart fills the wide gap between the Lancer GTS and Lancer Evolution. Mitsubishi wants this car to be their version of the Subaru Impreza WRX, and with all-wheel-drive capability and a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, the Ralliart indeed fits the bill. The Ralliart's aggressive styling, sporty handling, and twin-clutch transmission make it a worthy competitor not only for the WRX, but for the Mazdaspeed3 and Volkswagen GTI, as well.

PROS
- Turbo-four engine makes for a quick and powerful Lancer.
- Aggressive styling sets the Ralliart apart from the competition.
- All-wheel drive makes this sportster four-season friendly.

CONS
- Interior refinement is a bit lackluster.
- Price point may be higher than some would like to spend.
- Fuel economy is poor compared to competitor offerings.

Read more about the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart on the vehicle's Buyer's Guide page, where you'll find our driving evaluations, previous road tests, galleries, and more. You can find Buyer's Guides to other vehicles in the NextAutos Car Search database.

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After Mitsubishi unveiled the Lancer Sportback for Europe, the automaker announced that we'd be getting our own version in America at some point in 2009. Well, Mitsubishi wasn't lying, judging by this nearly production-ready Lancer Ralliart Sportback that was caught traveling up US-23 outside of Ann Arbor this morning.

While these prototypes don't have the stylish wheels and clear taillights of the Prototype S show car, we won't necessarily rule them out as options. Instead, these Sportback models were using the same wheels from the Lancer Ralliart and GTS sedans, and the standard red-enclosed taillights don't look too bad, either. As for power, we highly doubt that Mitsubishi will be tweaking with any of its engine choices. Additionally, we like that Mitsubishi opted to nix any sort of window between the C- and D-pillars, though we're sure how bad of a blind spot that will create until we get some actual seat time in the little Mitsu.

Us? We're looking forward to a seeing how this Mitsu stacks up to the Subaru WRX five-door, and we might even be hoping that the all-mighty Evo takes this body style someday, too.

When we originally reported that certain automakers would be pulling out of the 2009 North American International Auto Show, we wondered what the floor at Cobo Hall would look like without the absence of key players in our marketplace. However, in a late breaking change of plans, we have learned that local dealerships will be footing the bill to have Nissan, Infiniti, and Mitsubishi products make their way to the NAIAS floor.

To be clear, though, there won't be any models, fancy displays, or high-wattage lighting; but as Joe Serra, NAIAS co-chairman says, "The cars are going to be the stars." This will surely be a big hit with enthusiasts hoping to see some of their favorite Japanese products in the flesh. The extra space was originally going to be filled with displays from Chinese exhibitors, so we'll have to wait and see what this change of plans will do to the Detroit show's layout.

+ The Car Connection: Nissan, Infiniti, and Mitsubishi Back At Cobo Hall

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Over the past couple of years, we’ve noticed a trend that more and more performance cars are steering away from traditional manual transmissions in favor of high-tech dual-clutch setups. For 2008, the top-dollar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR features a six-speed paddle-shift transmission, and while some of us would rather have a stick and a third pedal, there’s no denying that this tranny is really, really good. Still, at nearly $41,000, some of us would rather just stick with the softer Evo GSR, which has the same performance specs but at a lower cost.

(Click through the post to read our full notes on the Evo MR.)

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Mitsubishi Motors has just tipped its entry into the LA Auto Show Design Challenge for this year, and extraordinary conceptual rally car straight from the 2025 season.

The MMR25 concept makes use of a radical omnidirectional wheel design which uses eight independently controlled electric motors. The idea is that the wild wheels will be able to keep the vehicle moving on a forward path while pointing the nose in any direction that is called for. The net effect will be the ability to literally drive sideways, instead of just drifting like a modern rally car.

Naturally, the Mitsu rally car is all electrically powered, with fully recyclable batteries that are able to run for up to 1000 miles on a single charge. That may sound like a lot but we are talking about "uniform composite Nano fiber Lithium batteries" here - not your average Duracell.

And though the MM25 may look fairly badass from the outside, it sounds like kind of a terrifying proposition for the driver, who pilots the machine from the inside of a "windowless pod" somewhere below the center wing. This chamber of fear moves up and down with the wing as the MM25 goes about its business, feeding all of the visual information to the driver via a seamless 360 degree, prone to failure, panoramic display. And you thought today's rally drivers had stones.

Check out the full design brief below.

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Mitsubishi recently confirmed that it would bring the redesigned Colt to the Paris Motor Show after an advertising banner of the sub-compact was placed onto the company's website early last week as a teaser.

Judging from the pictures, the new Colt takes many design cues from the current Mitsubishi lineup. With sharp headlights and a trapezoidal grill, it looks very similar to the new Lancer but toned down slightly to match the Colt's smaller proportions. The sub-compact will be available in two different sizes: A three-door and a five-door, both having a squared off rear for larger cargo capacity. Though the engines that will power the new Colt is still to be determined, the current models have a selection of a 1.1-liter and 1.5-liter gasoline engine, along with a 1.5-liter DI-D diesel. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if these carry over to the new replacement.

+ Autoblog: Paris Preview: Mitsubishi inadvertently posts pics of Colt

Though perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the competition for attention at the show (who could forget the Suzuki X-Head?), Mitsubishi had high hopes for its Concept-ZT when it debuted the handsome sedan at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. So we were certainly surprised (and more than a little amused) when we picked up the latest issue of Autocar’s print magazine to read a short piece entitled, “Mitsubishi cancels 3-series rival.”

After recovering from the shock of hearing that Mitsubishi had planned on pitting the ZT against BMW’s finest, we came to find out that the Mitsu executives had recently come to the conclusion that the “business case” for the luxury sedan just wasn’t there—a decision that we’re sure they’ll be relieved to have made a few years down the road.

Mitsubishi is certainly capable of making fine automobiles, a fact gloriously illustrated by the stonking Evo X, but to step into the luxury sports market and take aim at one of its most revered players would have been a bit of a moon shot for the company. Which isn’t to say they won’t try it with another car…Tokyo 2009 here we come.

+ Autocar

Mitsubishi and its motorsports unit, MMSP, have developed a new rally car, the "Racing Lancer," which will be entered in the Baja Portalegre. Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart is furthering development of the Racing Lancer in hopes to win the Dakar rally in 2009.

Powering the Racing Lancer is a new turbocharged diesel engine which has previously been tested in the Pajero/Montero Ralliart cars. The design of the Racing Lancer has very subtle cues from the Lancer and Evolution, and features a hatchback arrangement from the Lancer Sportback.

The Racing Lancer will undergo further testing in Morocco throughout the next couple of months with each test covering approximately 4000 kilometers each time. When the car makes its official debut at the Baja Portalegre, it will be driven by successful Dakar racer Stéphane Peterhansel, who has a total of nine wins under his belt.

+ Mitsubishi

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We’re just back from a day of participation in what Mitsubishi called its Lancer Family Road Show, where the main event was our debut drive in the new center of the range, the 2009 Lancer Ralliart.

NextAutos readers who haven’t heard the Ralliart name since the variant’s 2004 debut in the U.S. could be forgiven for wondering why any driving enthusiast would get terribly worked up about the mid-range Lancer. But while the last generation car was little more than some suspension tweaks and vaguely sporting set of OZ wheels, the new-for-2009 car does a much better job of splitting the difference between the Lancer GTS sedan and the fire-breathing Evolution X.

The turbocharged, nimble, four-wheel drive, road-rocket battle continues as Mitsubishi announces it will reveal a five-door version of its Lancer sedan, called the Lancer Sportback at the Paris Motor Show this October. The Japanese company will also be building a hotter Ralliart version of the Sportback, which will make 237 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.0-liter MIVEC engine. Power will be fed through Mitsu's new Twin-Clutch SST transmission.

European-spec Sportbacks will have either a 1.5-liter or 1.8-liter four-cylinders, as well as a new 2.0-liter turbodiesel option available in 2009. The Sportback will also get the trick Active Center Differential found on its big brother, the Evolution X. Stopping power for the Sportback Ralliart will come in the form of two piston front calipers.

While the battle between the Mitsubishi Evo X and Subaru's WRX STI rages on, the introduction of the new Sportback Ralliart should prompt some equally exciting new models and on road competition.