Mitsubishi today announced plans to unveil the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer at the Detroit auto show in January. Designed at Mitsubishi Motors studios in Europe and Japan, the Lancer sports sedan shares a design language with the popular 2005 Concept-X and Concept-Sportback show cars.
As previously reported, the Lancer will first be launched in North America in Spring 2007, then six months later in Japan and other markets. Mitsubishi says engine offerings will range from a 1.5 litre 110 horsepower base powerplant for Europe, to a high-performance Lancer Evolution model, including diesel power (Europe), a high performance 2.0 litre turbo gasoline version and other variants.
Mitsubishi has released an initial sketch of the 2008 Lancer, which appears to be a direct derivative of the Concept X, with some changes to the front fascia. It’s unclear if Mitsubishi has also changed the shape of the rear doors and roofline, or if these discrepancies are due to exaggeration in the artist’s sketch. Full image after the jump…



11/10, 11:01 AM
posted by:
JohnnyBlazE
Hmm
11/10, 11:18 AM
posted by:
bepsf
Looks sketchy to me…
11/10, 11:26 AM
posted by:
Fromes
I like….can’t wait for the new evo
11/10, 10:55 AM
posted by:
Renton
Official Sketch. Wow.
Doubt it will look like this.
11/10, 11:00 AM
posted by:
teknomusik
I hope it looks just like that! I want something I can LMAO at every time I see on the road!
11/10, 11:44 AM
posted by:
doublearon21
MyGodBeatsYourGod, Dude its a drawing, its not going to look like that, they intended for it to look spacey and futuristic, why the heck are you posting, they’ll never make tires that melt into the ground, wtf is the point of posting that? You whored your way through CCS? You have officially taken the title of most useless poster. And as per your sig….well I guess that depends on who your God is, but he doesn’ t beat mine.
11/10, 12:11 PM
posted by:
nowei
I tend to keep fairly well informed on most cars that are out there and soon to be out there. I like a lot of them, but this is potentially a car that I can see myself purchasing in a year or two, as I will likely not be in a position to buy the new GT-R.
/no
11/10, 12:27 PM
posted by:
roadrage
all naysayers out there…rendering/sketch is rendering/sketch. designers do not necessarily need to do it in a way that is 100% accurate!! there are other ways of doing that! sometimes all it needs to have is overall theme, graphics, somewhat accurate proportion, and surface brakeups…so stop naggin!
11/10, 12:30 PM
posted by:
J.A.N.E.
Looks different than the usual scraps-of-sheet-metal-melded-together-in-a-high-school-welding-class look.I’m sorry.Elementary-school-craft-shop.
11/10, 12:45 PM
posted by:
Brendino
I see plenty of Eclipse in the shape.
And in no way is that a bad thing.
11/10, 1:20 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
Just conjecture, but I think it’ll be much too watered down. Sure, the thing will fly but it will probably continue in its uninspired design theme. Too bad.
11/10, 1:22 PM
posted by:
Ricardo Head
Please Mitsu just skip the Galant ass on this thing and make it look good. Also give it a decent interior.
11/10, 2:08 PM
posted by:
Toy Yoda
I think it looks good now. I just hope they bump up the horse power to 400hp. That would be just sweet.
11/10, 2:15 PM
posted by:
BrokenCadillac...
EVO X is going to be an awesome ride. Just bump up the interior a bit and you’ve got a winner.
Oh by the way, if anyone is shopping the compact ute market, check out the Outlander. It is competitive and even better than most of its competiton in the segment. Seriously, it is a great SUV from these guys.
11/10, 2:45 PM
posted by:
Andre Neves
Im happy I got my IX MR.
The X concept looks good and all, but I just don’t think the production version will look anything like it.
I guess we just have to wait and see.
11/10, 2:46 PM
posted by:
Andre Neves
BTW, that sketch makes it look alot like a crossover or SUV.
11/10, 2:47 PM
posted by:
56oval
I thought I ordered the car with DOOR HANDLES!
11/10, 2:59 PM
posted by:
lanapat7
Finally an exciting sedan from Mitsu.
11/10, 3:06 PM
posted by:
Andre Neves
^because the first 9 weren’t exciting? :/
Maybe not for you.
11/10, 3:27 PM
posted by:
AdamT
Will the EVO-X be exciting? Is the pope catholic? Do bears crap in the woods?
The real question is: Will the regular Lancer be cool? Or at least the best non-Evo version? It’s not hard to find $30,000+ cars that are exciting. The trick is finding good ones at less than $20,000. That’s what will make money for Mitsu, and raise overall brand awareness.
-A
11/10, 3:50 PM
posted by:
lanapat7
No, they were not exciting in the stylistic sense.
Sure, the EVO can outrun almost any other car, but the styling- ufff!
11/10, 4:08 PM
posted by:
Andre Neves
^But see, that’s where your “Personal Opinion” sets in. A great Majority of enthusiasts like the way they have been styled. I recently purchased an ‘06 IX MR, and I love the face lift they gave it from the VIII & VII. Although my favorite ones have always been the V’s & VI’s. They cleaned up the IX’s bumper alittle and took the “Altezza” type lights(that I never liked) and darkened them almost black.
Im curious to see what the ACTUAL production version will look like. Hopefully they’ll show it in March next year at the NYC Autoshow.
11/10, 7:04 PM
posted by:
autonutt
There are several spy photos out there already, and the sketch is definitely exaggerated. The styling of the actual car is toned down even from the Evo X concept, with a taller, less flowing rear roofline and rear door cutouts that are markedly different, and the Galant-like sharpness of the concept’s bodyside sculpting has unfortunately been softened for the production model. I hope the actual Evo looks like the concept, but history suggests the changes will be mainly in the fasciae.
11/10, 7:36 PM
posted by:
Andre Neves
Autonutt, Evo VIIIs & IXs were VERY different from the regular Lancer in my opinion. Different trunk, headlights, tailights, fenders, wheels, front bumpers, rear bumpers, spoilers, doors(I believe), etc. And that’s just cosmetics.
Venom, shouldn’t you be in bed already so you can wake up early for school? You don’t want to miss school ya know, especially since 1st grade is the most important one.
11/10, 7:58 PM
posted by:
Veda
The dual clutch on the Evo X is the main point as you can have a daily commuter that can be taken really seriously.
11/10, 10:24 PM
posted by:
PruceJuice
Jeez, way to ruin what has always been such a BEAUTIFUL car! I’ve LOVED every Evo that’s come out and now I see this one and it’s completely ruined!
11/11, 12:06 PM
posted by:
A4
what is so bad about it seriously? its just a sketch and will obviously look more toned as a production, and i guarantee all of you will probably be stunned at how good it’ll look. There is no doubt in my mind that i would take this over a civic, and the focus and corolla are a joke. i cant wait to see this in the marketplace, and its good to see mitsubishi taking an aggressive initiative with this and the new outlander, rather than letting their models wither on the vine before they pack up and leave america.
11/11, 2:27 PM
posted by:
gtv6
Looks like they’ve copied the Brera a little bit.
11/11, 4:29 PM
posted by:
SSTRFSTR
Those kind of “official sketches” made the PT Cruiser look cool.
11/11, 8:21 PM
posted by:
1c3d0g
Ms. Veda: no, they’re not. Didn’t daddy teach you that? Or are you saying that you’re just like “Venom”?
11/12, 6:49 AM
posted by:
oodLes
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/autoexpresstv/spyshotvideos/202525/mitsubishi_lancer.html
I assume this is the video that people have been talking about with the spy shots.
To me, it looks basically the same as the EVO-X! Hurrah!
11/16, 12:18 AM
posted by:
SSTRFSTR
MGBYG has a point.