Tag Archives: Evolution

A New AWD Offering?


http://blog.caranddriver.com/2016-ford-focus-rs-awd-back-on-the-table-u-s-sales-more-likely-than-ever/

http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/future-cars/2016-ford-focus-rs-first-details-exclusive-insider-info

http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/future-cars/ford-denies-nothing-about-focus-rs-says-its-doable

I wanted to get all of the embedding and linkage out of the way first, as there is a lot of reference material, and I don’t even have reference info from Motor Trend or Automobile.

My thoughts? These are speculation articles, but R&T does have some communication from Ford regarding this car.

Is it a threat to existing cars of it’s genre? It’s too early to tell, but there’s a void to be filled (the Mitsubishi Evolution X). The playing field is being redefined, as well, because the upcoming Golf R is supposed to be a stellar offering and may well surpass the Subaru WRX STI in performance (or at least make Subaru concerned).

The early planning of the Focus RS dictated that the car would be front-wheel-drive. That has changed as of yesterday. It is definitive that the car will be AWD. We do not yet know how much HP the 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder will produce, but speculation is between 300-350 HP. We also do not know if the car will be definitively sold in the US, although the articles state that there’s a strong possibility. We also don’t know it’s proposed pricing, although a car that is designed to compete with the Golf R and/or Subaru STI will probably be similarly priced as those two cars. Word is, the Focus RS will also be a limited production vehicle, which may warrant a premium price (I’m not sure on this, but its worth mentioning). Will the car be a 4 door hatch? More than likely, if Ford wants to compete well with the other cars of this genre.

Other questions: Will the car have good value retainment? STIs hold their value extremely well. I can’t speak for Golf R owners (the Mk 7 isn’t yet released to the US public). Will the car be reliable? Will the car be expensive to maintain? It may be good to ask a Focus ST owner those two questions, since the RS will be new to the US.What of modifying the RS? Does Ford condone modifying Focus STs as far as warranty is concerned? Are the cars difficult to modify? Is the aftermarket as vast as Subaru’s? If anyone has answers to those questions, please comment!

Batman Slap Memes

Do you ever get tired of those guys commenting on 2015 STI videos and articles that continue to say things like:

Ew — looks like a Corolla

or

Looks like an Evo

or

No hatch, no sale…

Those are really annoying to read and really offers no value to a conversation.  I get sooo tired of the drivel comments because WTF cares about another person’s interpretation of how this car looks…it’s ALL subjective, even the hatch debacle.  It’s obvious that not everyone cares about the Corolla/Evo/hatch comments because the car is selling very well (to the point that there’s a problem with dealer markup). So, to blow off some steam, I went to one of those meme-maker sites and created a few meme responses to the stupid comments:

 

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The following one wasn’t created by me (I saw it on Facebook):

49269798

 

Mitsubishi to cease production of Lancer Evolution X – Left Lane News

http://www.leftlanenews.com/mitsubishi-to-cease-production-of-lancer-evolution-x.html

Mitsubishi has announced plans to wind down production of the Lancer Evolution performance sedan.  According to Japan’s Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun (Automotive News Daily), Mitsubishi will cease building the tenth iteration of its halo sports sedan, the Lancer Evolution X, by the end of this year.

 

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We knew it was coming…it was just a matter of when they would plan to stop the production line.  We are lucky they didn’t do it sooner.

 

UK to Receive 440-HP Evo?? – Road & Track

http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/news/mitsubishi-lancer-evo-x-fq-440

As with all UK-market Evos since 2003, the MR’s numerical badge denotes its power rating. Offered only in white, the FQ-440 achieves its 440 hp via an ECU remap, high-flow fuel injectors, revised intercooling piping, and a new manifold-back exhaust courtesy of Janspeed. Torque also gets a slight bump, from 400 to 412 lb-ft. Mild Eibach suspension tweaks help hunker the FQ-440’s nose down 1.3 inches, with the rear sitting 1.1 inches lower than stock.

Only 40 examples of the Lancer Evolution X FQ-440 MR will be produced, each with a £50,000 ($83,000) price tag.

The last FQ sold in the UK was $82,000 (equivalent USD).  I posted this article up on IWSTI and someone mentioned that the pricing was inflated due to UK-specific issues and that it would likely be a lower price if offered in the US.  I’m not sure I agree with that, because some cars in the US are always offered at an inflated price (or not at all).  We’ve never received an FQ version of the Evo.  And if we did, it would certainly not be even close to the pricing of a standard USDM Evo.  The FQs are not standard offerings, so they’re always going to be quite expensive in comparison to non-FQ Evos.  Also, not the production count of the FQ-440…only 40 examples will be produced.  Yes, pricing is affected because of that, too.

The next Mitsubishi Lancer Evo – Hybrid + AWD

The next #Mitsubishi Lancer #Evo will be a plug-in hybrid, all-wheel drive, technological monster.