Managing Director, Jim Tyrrell, has hailed Mitsubishi’s New Lancer range as a “revolution” for the marque, with its sporty styling, keen pricing and motor sports “halo” provided by the eagerly awaited Lancer Evolution X (ten).

Even though the new Lancer retains the same name as the previous model, this is where the similarities end. The vehicle is based on Mitsubishi’s ‘Project Global’ platform, as is the new Lancer Evolution X and the New Outlander.

This tenth generation of Lancer has been priced in the heartland of the C segment even though it is bigger and better equipped than its mainstream competitors. Sharper handling, better safety features, crisp styling and cutting edge technology all underline the car’s sporting credentials.

The Lancer Evolution, in all its incarnations has established itself as a global performance car icon, providing “supercar slayer” performance at a fraction of supercar pricing.

Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi’s Sales & Marketing Director remarked that, “The new Lancer Evolution X takes a huge leap forward in overall capability with significant gains in handling, dynamics, comfort and technology. At the same time, the driver still gets the kind of thrilling turbo engine performance that has made the model a legend around the world.”

SECTION ONE – New Lancer Product Line-Up and Specification

The new Lancer is available in four trim levels - the GS1, GS2, GS3 and GS4 with the next generation Lancer Evolution X topping the range and providing a significant sporting “halo effect”.

Lancer GS1 (5-door “Sportback” only)

The GS1 variant benefits from a superb specification for safety, style and convenience, especially for an entry level model in the C-D segment. Pricing starts at just £12,499 for the 1.5 litre petrol engine with an additional £750 for the 4-speed automatic transmission:

• Rear Spoiler
• Electric Windows (Front & Rear)
• Front & Side Airdams
• Air Conditioning
• Driver, passenger, side and knee airbags
• Remote Door Locking
• Trip Computer
• Cat 1 alarm system with immobiliser
• Deadlocks
• CD / Tuner with MP3 Capability & 4 Speakers
• Pollen Filter
• ISO-Fix Child Restraint Points

Lancer GS2 (5-door “Sportback” only)

The GS2 gains the following items in addition to that of the GS1, with the 4-speed automatic being replaced by a 6-speed CVT automatic on petrol models for £1,000. The 1.8 litre petrol is priced at £13,999 and the 2.0 litre diesel at £15,499:

• 16" Alloy Wheels
• Leather Steering Wheel / Shift Knob
• Steering Wheel Audio Controls
• Curtain Airbags
• 6-Speakers
• Front Grille Chrome Surround

Lancer GS3 (4-door and 5-door “Sportback”)

The GS3 steps up a gear in sporty driving dynamics, and additional comfort and convenience features. All the following items come as standard for just a £1,000 premium over the GS2, with the 6-speed CVT automatic on petrol models costing an additional £1,000. The 1.8 litre petrol is priced at £14,999 and the 2.0 litre diesel at £16,499:

• 18" Alloy Wheels
• Front Fog Lamps
• Cruise Control
• Stability & Traction Control
• Privacy Glass
• Climate Controlled Air Conditioning
• Sports Suspension
• Front Strut Tower Bar

Lancer GS4 (4-door and 5-door “Sportback”)

The GS4 gains the following items for just a £2,000 premium over the GS3, with the 6-speed CVT automatic on petrol models costing an additional £1,000. The 1.8 litre petrol is priced at £16,999 and the 2.0 litre diesel at £18,499:

• Pan-European HDD satellite navigation system with colour touch screen
• 30GB music server
• Heated leather seats
• iPod / MP3 auxiliary input
• Personalisation of car set up (e.g. set your own preferences for windscreen wiper operation, interior light delays, auto-folding wing mirror options, etc).
• Advanced vehicle data system: vehicle environment, altitude, direction, advanced trip computer, etc.

Full and detailed specifications for the entire Lancer range are detailed in the associated specification sheets accompanying this release.

Lancer Ralliart

The Lancer Ralliart comes with a 2.0 litre (Dual Valve VVT) Turbo Engine with 6-speed Twin Clutch - SST transmission producing 240 PS, coupled with a full-time 4WD system with Active Yaw Control and Active Centre Differential.

Specification will include the following items:

• Auto rain sensing wipers
• Auto headlight sensor
• Aluminium bonnet panel
• Recaro front seats
• Sports steering wheel with paddle shift
• Ralliart radiator grille
• Aluminium pedals
• Xenon headlamps
• Headlamp washers

Pricing for the Lancer Ralliart will be announced shortly.

Engine Technology

Two petrol and one diesel engine are available for the new Lancer.

The 1.5 litre petrol engine is a VVT MIVEC unit, with VVT on the intake valves and produces a healthy 110 PS. The unit takes the car from 0-62 in 11.6 seconds (14.3 seconds with the auto) and has CO₂ emissions of 153g/km combined, VED Band D (168 g/km combined, VED Band E for the auto). Fuel consumption is an excellent 44.14 mpg (40.35 mpg for the auto) on the combined cycle.

The 1.8 litre petrol engine is a brand new DOHC VVT design with VVT on both the intake and exhaust valves. It benefits from 144PS of power and is available with either a 5-speed manual or a new 6-speed CVT automatic transmission. The unit takes the car from 0-62 in 9.8 seconds (11.2 seconds with the CVT auto) and has CO₂ emissions of 183g/km combined, VED Band E (188 g/km combined, VED Band F for the auto). You can also complete 36.69 mpg (35.76 mpg for the CVT auto) on the combined cycle.

Finally, a 140PS 2.0 DI-D 16-valve intercooled turbocharged diesel with a 6-speed manual transmission is also available. The power unit is sourced from VW, and has been further enhanced by Mitsubishi’s engineering team to reduce noise, vibration and harshness. Taking the car from 0-62 in 9.6 seconds the unit has CO₂ emissions of 165g/km combined, VED Band D. Fuel consumption is 44.83 mpg on the combined cycle.

Styling

The new Lancer styling has been universally praised, having been inspired by the Mitsubishi Concept X that was first shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005.  The front of the car was influenced by jet fighter air intakes, with distinctively deep set headlights and taut lines.

Built on a longer wheelbase and wider track – but with a slightly shorter overall length than the previous model, the new Lancer has a more road-hugging attitude that is especially evident with the 18” alloy wheels and the sporty body kit.

Safety

The new Lancer body structure is built around Mitsubishi’s next-generation Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) design.  It disperses energy loads during side and rear impacts and controls distortion, enhancing occupant protection and also helping to protect the fuel system during a rear impact.

In addition, the new vehicle makes extensive use of high strength steel in its construction. Compared to the previous generation Lancer it is much more rigid - torsional rigidity has been increased by 56% and bending rigidity by 50%. This has the additional benefit of improving the vehicle handling and ride.

The Lancer’s safety package is extremely comprehensive and includes an advanced dual front air bag Supplementary Restraint System (SRS) with occupant sensors, standard front seat-mounted side-impact airbags and side curtain airbags, plus a driver’s knee airbag.

Furthermore, Active Stability Control (ASC) reduces rotational movement when the vehicle begins to skid, while the traction control prevents wheel spin in slippery conditions.

Colours

The new Lancer range is available in the following colours:

Pricing Summary

List pricing (excluding VED and FRF) for the new Lancer range is as follows:

Lancer pricing excludes cost of metallic / pearlescent paint at £350.00

Insurance Groups

With the improvements to technology and safety the insurance group rating for the new Lancer is highly competitive, as follows:

The New Lancer is grouped in line with Mazda 3, Honda Civic, and Subaru Impreza and exceeds every variant of the Volvo S40 range.

Servicing and After Sales

The new Lancer has 12,500 mile service intervals and is also available with a Mitsubishi Service Plan at just £200, covering the vehicle’s first three scheduled services, and comes complete with a 3-year unlimited mileage warranty and pan-European roadside assistance package to provide entirely worry-free motoring.

SECTION TWO – New Lancer Evolution X Product Line-Up and Specification

Product Line Up and Specification

The new Lancer Evolution X is available in three main trim levels - the GS, GSR and GSR SST (Sports Shift Transmission).

Lancer Evolution X GS

The GS includes the following standard equipment:

• 5-speed manual gearbox
• Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC)

S-AWC combines a number of 4WD component systems to enable high-precision control of the drive torque and brake force at each wheel, which enhances cornering and stability while increasing safety. These components include:

• Active Centre Differential (ACD)
• Active Yaw Control (AYC)
• Active Stability Control (ASC)
• Sport ABS

• 18” Enkei alloy wheels
• Brembo braking system, including 2-piece front brakes
• Eibach coil springs
• Bilstein shock absorbers
• HID Bi-Xenon headlamps with Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS)

AFS is a lighting system that automatically turns on an additional lamp which follows the direction of the steering wheel turn to further enhance night-driving safety.

• Recaro front seats
• Bluetooth hands-free system
• CD / Tuner with 6 speakers and MP3 compatibility
• Leather sports steering wheel with audio controls
• Aluminium bonnet, wings, roof and bumper beam
• Driver, passenger, side and knee airbags
• Privacy glass
• Front fog lamps
• ISO Fix child seating system
• Automatic headlamp and wiper sensors
• Remote central locking
• CAT1 approved alarm / immobiliser
• CAT5 approved tracker system + 1 year’s free subscription

This advanced stolen vehicle recovery system includes pan-European tracking coverage and automatic driver recognition with a key card. An alert service is triggered when either system sabotage or an unauthorised movement of vehicle is detected. Finally, remote immobilisation prevents continued use of vehicle after theft.

Lancer Evolution X GSR

The GSR trim level improves even further on the excellent GS specification by providing the following additional items:

• HDD satellite navigation system
• 30GB music server
• Rockford Fosgate premium audio – 650watt output, 6 premium speakers + subwoofer
• iPod / MP3 auxiliary input port
• Personalisation of car set up (e.g. set your own preferences for windscreen wiper operation, interior light delays, auto-folding wing mirror options, etc).
• Advanced vehicle data system: vehicle environment, altitude, direction, advanced trip computer, etc.

 Lancer Evolution X GSR SST

Finally, the GSR SST benefits from Mitsubishi’s stunning new 6-speed Twin Clutch SST (Sports Shift Transmission) gearbox with steering column mounted magnesium paddle shifters.

This advanced transmission puts odd (1st, 3rd, 5th) and even (2nd, 4th  and 6th) gears on separate input shafts, each with its own clutch, and switches between these clutches to produce seamless and lightning-fast gear changes in either fully automatic or manual transmission modes.

A switch located at the base of the gear selector allows the driver to choose between Normal, Sport and Super Sport modes for optimum shifts in a wide variety of situations ranging from urban driving to maintaining a tight line on a winding road.

And because Twin Clutch SST uses clutches rather than a torque converter to transmit power it benefits from improved efficiency and better fuel economy.

Full specification details for the entire Lancer Evolution X range are detailed in the associated specification sheet accompanying this release.

Safety

In addition to an array of electronic wizardry to transfer every ounce of raw power to the road, whilst maintaining maximum control and road-holding, the next generation Evolution X comes packed with other safety features. These include a stiffer body with a 40% improvement in torsional rigidity over the previous version and other safety features include front, side, curtain and knee airbags, which are fitted to all variants as standard.

Engine

With the launch of the new Lancer Evolution X, the respected iron block 4G63 engine used in the previous models has been replaced with a much improved 4B11 2.0 litre turbocharged engine.

Developing 295PS (290bhp) of power and 407Nm (300 lb.ft) of torque in standard form, this new engine utilises continuously variable valve timing technology (MIVEC) on both the intake and exhaust camshafts to develop more power over the full rev range.

12kg lighter than the older 4G63, the 4B11 uses a die-cast aluminium cylinder block, head cover and chain case. The adoption of a rearward facing exhaust manifold layout has, as well as improving exhaust efficiency, allowed the engine to be mounted lower, which has in turn lowered the centre of gravity and improved the handling characteristics.

The use of this technically advanced engine has also improved emissions performance and fuel economy.

Power Upgrades by HKS

As with the previous Evolution models, the Lancer Evolution X is available in a range of power upgraded variants. Both FQ-330 and FQ-360 HKS power upgrades are available from launch on manual transmission variants only.

The FQ-330 model utilises a breathing kit^[1] and ECU re-map to achieve the additional extra performance, while the FQ-360 benefits from a further ECU re-map, new fuel pump assembly and additional standard items, such as carbon lip spoiler, vortex down-force generator, sports meter kit and premium leather seats with techno suede fabric inserts. 
Full power output and torque figures will be published shortly.

Colours

The Evolution X range is available in the following colours:

Note: Metallic paint is included in the standard price.

Pricing

List pricing (excluding VED and FRF) for the Lancer Evolution X is as follows:

Insurance Groups

With the improvements to technology and safety we are delighted to announce that the insurance group ratings for the new Lancer Evolution X are the lowest they have ever been for the Evolution, as follows:

Servicing and After Sales

The new Lancer Evolution X has 10,000 mile service intervals^[2] and is also available with a Mitsubishi Service Plan at just £400, covering the vehicle’s first three scheduled services and the 1,000 mile oil change, and comes complete with a 3-year unlimited mileage warranty and pan-European roadside assistance package to provide entirely worry-free motoring.