We were wondering amongst ourselves recently why Mitsubishi makes cars other than the Evo. None of them are even pretend interesting or competitive. So it's not surprising when we hear rumors Mitsu is considering making the Evo XI a hybrid.
Remember the old school Galant? How about the Montero? The Diamante? Not terrible cars. Mitsubishi has somehow managed to survive for almost a decade on completely irrelevant (and sometimes terrible) products, and the Lancer Evolution. So, since the Evo is the only thing in the Mitsu lineup worth a damn, it only makes sense for them to be considering making the Evo XI a hybrid and probably killing everything good and pure about the car.
According to reporting in MotorTrend, Mitsubishi is planning to make the next Evo a hybrid with an electric motor providing primary motivation via the front wheels, a 2.0-liter MIVEC four-cylinder would drive the rear wheels when needed. If Mitsubishi can pull it off, it'll be the first affordable performance hybrid, but considering their recent history (the Endevour, the Galant, the Eclipse) we're not holding our breath. [MotorTrend]