Ok, well not just any parking lot. The parking lot of Mitsubishi's US headquarters. That's right the upcoming 2009 Lancer Ralliart is apparently sitting in the parking lot and one of Mitsubishi's loyal employees took a photo of it and here it is...all over the internet. Well either way..this is our first look at the car, sans camouflage.
Here are the details according to the guy who took the photo:
-230 - 240 turbocharged horsepower
-AWD
-5-speed manual gearbox or Twin Clutch SST available
-Recaro front seats
-Gunmetal-finish Lancer GTS wheels
-GTS rear wing
-Nav system available
Judging by these stats I wonder if this car is going to cannibalize sales of the EVO X? If the Lancer Ralliart starts around $25K (rumored) and the EVO is close to $40k...wouldn't you just save the extra $15k and deal with the decreased horsepower? Besides you could probably get a tuner to squeeze some extra power from the Ralliart.
Let's hope that Mitsubishi is going to officially unveil the car at the Detroit Auto Show next week. Then we will have the final stats on the car. Stay tuned.
Full Story: Autoblog
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Comments (19)
Judging by these stats I wonder if this car is going to cannibalize sales of the EVO X?
yes.
Posted by Charlie | January 9, 2008 8:01 PM
Posted on January 9, 2008 20:01
Probably so. But considering how few Lancers i see PERIOD here in the States, any sales are good sales for Mitsu.
With the right price point and good advertising, they would do more damage to the Mazda 3/6 crowd, or even the Subaru clan i would think.
Posted by Trooper Bri | January 9, 2008 8:19 PM
Posted on January 9, 2008 20:19
The last generation Lancer Ralliart was an ultimate sleeper car. It bridged the gap between the base and the EVO and one could have a lot of fun w/out the insurance penalty of the EVO. The new version looks like a winner especially at that price point.
Posted by longdxcommuter | January 9, 2008 9:15 PM
Posted on January 9, 2008 21:15
"The last generation Lancer Ralliart was an ultimate sleeper car. It bridged the gap between the base and the EVO and one could have a lot of fun w/out the insurance penalty of the EVO." - longdxcommuter
WTF?
The last generation was a FWD non-turbo POS with attrocious resale compared to rivals like the Civic Si or Corolla XRS (yes, the Corolla with the 1.8 Celica GTS engine / 6spd).
They slapped the "Ralliart" label on the last one for all the wannabe Ricers out there. This one looks like it may deserve it and reprive the role of affordable AWD/turbo pocket rockets left by the Eclipse/Talon back in 1999. (yes I realize the WRX came over a few years later).
Posted by Noya | January 10, 2008 1:40 AM
Posted on January 10, 2008 01:40
Whats the deal with most new cars from most companies now getting the same looking radiator grill as the Audi A6?
Posted by niz | January 10, 2008 2:31 AM
Posted on January 10, 2008 02:31
I like it, but if the weight is over 3200lb. it will be stomped on by all the new iron coming out at 25-30k. 2009-2010 is going to be good times for car lovers :)
Posted by Kell | January 10, 2008 9:22 AM
Posted on January 10, 2008 09:22
I believe the look is functional to cool off the intercooler.
-Jeff
Posted by Jeff | January 10, 2008 9:29 AM
Posted on January 10, 2008 09:29
Not bad looking - better than the new WRX for sure. Speaking of Ralliart, I saw a Ralliart Galant in person at the mall the other day. It made me (and several other folks) stop to take a closer look. Nice looking car. Definitely a good sign for Mitsu if it can stop people and make them take a look.
Posted by D | January 10, 2008 10:12 AM
Posted on January 10, 2008 10:12
this is a direct attack onto a WRX, and considering a butchered design from subaru and less HP, this is more likely to affect subaru sales than those of EvoX
I somewhat agree with Noya, the previous Ralliart was atrocious. New philosophy behind the model (AWD, turbo, 230+ HP) is more worthy of the Ralliart designation.
Posted by SVT | January 10, 2008 10:12 AM
Posted on January 10, 2008 10:12
If this car starts around 25k i'm already sold. For all the tuners that buy a car just so they can add a turbo and what not this is perfect. Forget the civic si, why waist 5K on a turbo, new exhaust, timers, installation, etc, and void the engine warranty when you can spend the 5K on this car and get AWD to boot. I see some serious competition with this car.
Posted by D! | January 10, 2008 11:52 AM
Posted on January 10, 2008 11:52
Hell, I think I just found my next car in a few years.
Posted by Polynikes | January 10, 2008 12:15 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 12:15
I personally have owned 3 DSM's (currently a 99 GSX) and I can not afford the EVO X so I can not wait for this car to come out. It is exactly the price to performance I was looking for.
Posted by Crawlgsx | January 10, 2008 12:28 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 12:28
@Noya:
Agreed on resale value, but that is across the board with Mitsubishi. However, not everyone wants or could afford the EVO. The last gen Ralliart had the proven 2.4liter engine that was faster than the base Lancer (the Lancer OZ was a true poser) and overall a good platform. This new version ups the ante with AWD and a turbo.
Posted by longdxcommuter | January 10, 2008 3:17 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 15:17
The return of the real WRX, in Mitsubishi form!
I hope Subaru's sales drop way off with this new model, they have the worst design team in the world right now.
The last get Ralliart was a lame car... please admit it...
Posted by Cheap Car Lover | January 10, 2008 3:32 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 15:32
The return of the real WRX, in Mitsubishi form!
I hope Subaru's sales drop way off with this new model, they have the worst design team in the world right now.
The last generation Ralliart was a lame car... please admit it...
Posted by Cheap Car Lover | January 10, 2008 3:35 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 15:35
It look like Subaru is going to have some hard times for the nest couple of years. I have a 07 STI and have to admit the new lancer looks better then the new impreza.
Posted by STUKA | January 10, 2008 3:53 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 15:53
It's about time they started competing with the WRX. The last Ralliart was a good "what if" kind of feeler and they apparently got a good enough response from the sales of that to think it was time to release a more potent RA Lancer. Hopefully the sales of this car won't tank and it will be well received by the masses. I hope the after market can do as much for these cars as it's done for the Evolution and the DSM. Only time will tell though.
Posted by DivideByZero | January 10, 2008 6:51 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 18:51
Hmm, let's see sell 2-3 times the number of cars because the price is in line with others in the class vs selling a few thousand at 35-40K? I'm not a mastermind but I would think they will be way better off bringing the competition to the WRX and MS3 with this than trying to eek out an existence with the base 150hp car and then the 300hp all or nothing model. Had they done this back in 2003 with the first Evo 8 they would have had so many more cars on the road by now. Lesson learned I guess as they decided to go ahead with it in the new body style (which I LOVE BTW.)
Posted by carluver | January 10, 2008 8:29 PM
Posted on January 10, 2008 20:29
the car next to it is red too.
Posted by rene | January 11, 2008 6:53 AM
Posted on January 11, 2008 06:53