Rumors that the next-generation Mitsubishi EVO would go hybrid first surfaced over a year ago and now company president Osamu Masuko has reportedly confirmed as much.

Speaking with the UK’s AutoCar, Masuko said the Evo XI will come with a hybrid powertrain and that it will be on sale within the next three years.

Rumors have suggested the car could be a plug-in hybrid, or that it could use a diesel-hybrid powertrain, helping it deliver substantial amounts of torque from a very small displacement engine.

Several months back came reports that the EVO would be discontinued as Mitsubishi poured substantial resources into developing future electric cars. That was eventually rebuked by Masuko has insisted the EVO would live on, but “evolve” in a different direction.

[Source: AutoCar]

Having had the opportunity to experience Lexus‘ LFA firsthand, we can attest to its freakish performance and elegant handling all wrapped in a luxurious package. While its price tag has drawn criticism, it’s certainly not unheard of in the exotic segment and so EVO Magazine decided to compare (very expensive) apples to apples, pitting the Japanese supercar against  Ferrari‘s 599 GTO – both vehicles with MSRPs just barely under the $400,000 mark. The result may be surprising to some, with EVO giving their nod to the LFA despite the 599 GTO’s quicker 0-60 time and higher top speed.

It goes without saying that no true auto enthusiast should judge a car simply by its acceleration and top speed, but the 599 GTO clocked a 0-60 time in just 3.8 seconds while the LFA was a solid few ticks behind at 4.2. The LFA’s top speed was recorded at 179-mph while the GTO easily outpaced it at 193-mph. But the article goes way beyond that, with EVO coming to the conclusion that Lexus now has a vehicle that tops Italy’s finest.

“What marks out the LFA for particular praise is its bravery and originality;” says EVO, “for Lexus to create such a car from scratch, with no evolutionary engineering or existing bias from which to work, is a remarkable achievement. Innovative, extreme, immaculately executed and exquisite to drive, it’s the greatest high-performance car Japan has ever produced.”

“Get hung up on the badge and you’ll be blind to its magic. Revel in its rarity, its rare abilities and the fact we’re unlikely to see its like again and you’ll understand why the LFA is one of the greats, and why this test ends with three unexpected, hard-won and thoroughly deserved words: Lexus beats Ferrari.”

Check out a video of EVO Magazine comparing the two cars after the jump.

[Source: Lexus Enthusiast]

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Yoichi Yokozawa, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America confirmed that a new Lancer SE model will be arriving this fall as a 2012 model. The SE model will receive all-wheel drive, like its Ralliart and Evolution siblings, however it will be powered by the naturally aspirated engine found in the DE, ES and GTS trims.

The SE model will likely sell for around $20,000 and is expected to account for 15-20 percent of all Lancer sales. Mitsubishi plans to sell 100,000 units in the U.S again and hopes adding the SE to the Lancer lineup will boost sales – and stay competitive with long-time rival Subaru. Mitsubishi last sold over 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2007, with 128,993.

[Source: Automotive News]

Mitsubishi North America and the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School have launched a new high performance driving program that allows drivers to participate in the advanced Lancer Evolution Experience II at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

This new program builds on the curriculum and driving instruction offered in the Lancer Evolution Experience I. In LEE II, the program places special emphasis on timed competition in the Mitsubishi Evolution X. The Evo features a fully-integrated roll cage, Sparco racing seats and safety harness’.

The daylong lesson  begins by revisiting critical high-performance driving criteria such as line driving dynamics, then heading out to the paddock to perform several key driving exercises. Then back to the classroom, then students practice a time attack lap with an instructor around the Infineon Raceway. The grand finale is the time attack test where students compete against each other. The fastest driver is invited back to race in the Lancer Evolution Challenger Run Off. The winner of that, gets free use of a Mitsubishi vehicle for a year.

The daylong lesson costs $1,295 and is open to graduates of the Lancer Evolution Experience I.

AutoGuide.com Editor-in-Chief Colum Wood participated in the racing school and loved it. Click on the link to see what he had to say!

http://www.autoguide.com/manufacturer/mitsubishi/mitsubishi-lancer-evolution-experience-at-the-jim-russell-racing-drivers-school-1264.html

The Mitsubishi Evo might be slated for the history books, but a few folks out there intend to send it off with a bang.

The team at GMG is currently prepping an Evo for the SCCA World Challenge Series, where it will compete in the new(ish) GTS class.

Just a few years ago World Challenge only had two levels of racing and as such the Evo was pegged into the top-tier GT category with cars like the Viper, making it unattractive to potential racing teams. Now, however, with the new GTS level, the Evo might just be the perfect balance of performance and grip to take on the Mustangs, Camaros, BMWs and Acuras of that class.

Registered under GMG, reports suggest the car will actually run under the Swisher Racing name, with GMG pilot and series veteran James Sofronas sticking to his Porsche in the GT class.

It’s not yet clear if the car will make its debut at the start of the series, March 15th in St. Petersburg

Considering the sad news around the demise of the Evo, it goes without saying that this is not a factory-backed effort.

Hale, UK Police seized this yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII after its driver was stopped for “driving erratically” and arrested for DUI. Normal police procedure, in the UK requires the officers wait for a transporter to tow a seized car to impound, but not this time. The two officers decided to drive the car themselves, and, well, the photos show what happened next.

The officer behind the wheel lost control at what appears to be very high speed, and ended up rolling the car on a local man’s lawn. One of the officers suffered minor injuries, and clearly their superiors will be launching an investigation into their behavior. Evo carnage gallery after the jump:

[Source: BBC via Redliners]

[Photo Credit: LancerRegister]

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This weekend’s X-Games 16 is starting to become a star-studded event full of Formula Drift’s best drivers. We already know Tanner Foust and his experience with the X-Games, and now Samuel Hubinette and Andrew Comrie-Picard (Formula Drift driver and teammate) will both be driving NOS Energy Drink Mitsubishi EVOs on BFGoodrich tires.

The NOS Energy Drink EVO is not new to X-Games but it has been rewrapped for this year (as pictured above). Rumor has it that Hubinette’s practice was cut short when he hit a berm and threw the EVO up on two wheels. So it’ll be interesting to see how the competition plays out in the Super Rally with Hubinette, Picard, Verdier and Foust battling it out on the rally course rather than the drift course.

AutoGuide will be sure to update with X-Games news and results, especially if anything flips over!

UPDATE: Ready to match the EVO entry, Subaru has also just released details on it’s three car effort for the X-Games, with Travis Pastrana, Dave Mirra and Sverre Isachsen all piloting 500-hp Subaru WRX STIs.

Over four years ago, AMS shocked the world taking a Mitsubishi EVO VIII and setting all sorts of new records with it. Back then it eclipsed the mid-to-low 9-second mark on the drag strip and a couple of years later they bested all the marks with a new world record at 8.42 @ 168.7 mph. The car then went on to break horsepower records dropping 1,181 all wheel horsepower. So everyone had to ask, what was left for this straight-line bullet to achieve in the record books? Well, why not the world’s fastest standing mile for a four-cylinder? And that’s exactly what AMS did with their EVO at The Texas Mile a few weeks back, breaking yet another world record and going 228 mph.

It wasn’t all that happened that fateful run however. It seemed as if the car itself knew that there was very little left it could achieve after four years of dominating all sorts of records. The car unfortunately catches fire and driver Eric Jones wisely bails himself out of a vehicle that had just gone close to 230 mph. While it seems very tragic that AMS’ EVO VIII was on fire, we’re sure deep down the boys over there are looking forward to building something new. We know we all are, after four years of watching this one succeed.

Make sure to check out the in-car video of this record-setting Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII after the jump:

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No matter how cool a U.S.-spec car is, foreign automakers always seem to have an even more impressive and hard-core version for oversea’s markets. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is a stellar performer, but in the U.K. apparently there’s a demand foreven more power – 36 more horsepower to be precise.

Named the FQ-330, this new model generates 329hp and gets a bump of 22 ft-lbs of torque for a total of 322 ft-lbs. The added power is acheived through the use of a new high-flow exhaust, a new downpipe, as well as new intercooler piping and a new catalytic converter.

Standard equipment on the FQ-330 includes Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks, Brembo brakes, Recaro seats, 18-inch Enkei wheels and Mitsubishi’s amazing double-clutch TC-SST transmission..

Pricing for the new model is set at £35,999 (roughly $56,0000), a £3,000 premium over the standard Evo model. It will be offered in four different colors: Cool Silver, Orient Red, Lightning Blue and Phantom Black.

Official release after the jump:

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