Need 4 Lancer

SEATTLE, WA - September 6, 2008: Affordable performance. That’s the key to the Lancer Ralliart for 2009. While its big brother, the Lancer EVO will knock your socks off, this $26K hot little sedan will certainly peel them off. We took our cameras inside to hear all about it from Mitsubishi Manager of Product Strategy, Bryan Arnett.

The 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is the latest in a long line of high-performance 4-wheel drive (4WD) Mitsubishi models. The Lancer Ralliart All-Wheel Control (AWC) system is based on the Mitsubishi Active Center Differential (ACD), which uses an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch center differential to distribute drive torque between the front and rear wheels in response to driving conditions. The system is controlled by the AWC computer, which takes input from a variety of engine and wheel speed sensors, G-force sensors and steering angle sensor information. The AWC computer uses a proprietary Mitsubishi algorithm to calculate action of the ACD unit in response to road conditions. The ACD provides an excellent balance between steering response and traction characteristics and allows the driver to set system response parameters using a “Tarmac, Gravel, Snow” selector. The ACD is essentially the same that was used in the previous-generation Lancer Evolution (Evolution IX in other markets.) Likewise, the helical limited-slip front and mechanical limited-slip front rear differentials are adapted from the previous-generation Lancer Evolution. (The new-generation Lancer Evolution, in comparison, is equipped with the Super All-Wheel Control system featuring both the Active Center Differential and the Active Yaw Control torque-vectoring rear differential.)
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Mitsubishi has just released pricing on the all-new 2009 Lancer Ralliart and for $26,490, you can get behind the wheel of the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Evo Lite. Equipped with the same 4B11T/C as the Evolution X, the Ralliart is putting out 237 hp through a modified version of the Evo IX’s AWD system. That includes an Active Center Differential, along with front and rear mechanical LSDs and settings for Tarmac, Gravel and Snow. Active Stability Control is part of the package, as is Traction Control, but unfortunately, Ralliartists have to make due without the Active Yaw Control equipped on its big brother.

The optional Recaro Sport Package will set you back an additional $2,750, and includes front Recaro buckets, HID headlamps, a 650-watt Rockford Fosgate sound system with a six month subscription to Sirius Satellite Radio.

We’re eagerly anticipating the debut of the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback and its Ralliart variant in Paris this September, and these recent shots of the five-door making the rounds in Barcelona are just enough to keep us interested. Judging by the German numberplates and a couple of shots that surfaced on Autoweek.nl, we’d guess that the Ralliart Sportback is in the hands of motoring journalists abroad or was on its way to a photoshoot ahead of its launch.

As we’ve seen previously, the Ralliart hatch takes the Evo-styled front end from its four-door counterpart, along with new side sills, darkened wheels and a subtle rear spoiler. In Europe, the Lancer Sportback will come equipped with either a 1.5- or 1.8-liter four, or a 2.0-liter turbodiesel, while those of us in the U.S. get to enjoy an Evolution experience on the cheap, with a de-tuned version of the 4B11T/C 2.0-liter four, producing 237 hp and 253 lb.-ft. of torque. We like it in red, white or slate grey would be our chosen hue when the Sportback goes on sale in the States early next year.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/02/spy-shots-mitsubishi-lancer-sportback-ralliart-sneaks-out-ahead/

Mitsubishi announced today that it will unveil the production version of its Lancer Sportback and Lancer Sportback Ralliart at the Paris Motor Show in early October. The Lancer Sportback is just what it sounds like, a five-door hatchback version of the recently redesigned Lancer model that’s on sale around the world. Mitsubishi already revealed in its latest global business report that it would be selling the Lancer Sportback in the U.S. as well, but the only time frame given was sometime after the introduction of the Evo X, which is already on sale here.

In Europe, the Lancer Sportback will be powered by a 1.5L or 1.8L four-cylinder, or a 2.0L turbodiesel, while the Sportback Ralliart will feature a turbocharged 2.0L MIVEC engine producing 237 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque that’s mated to Mitsubishi’s Twin-Clutch SST transmission. It will also feature an Active Center Differential to help send torque to the wheels that can use it, as well as two-piston front brake calipers. Sounds like the same setup we saw on the U.S. version of the Lancer Ralliart sedan that debuted at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show in January. We were particularly smitten with that car, so adding some more interior cubes and a fifth door should only serve to increase our anticipation for Paris.
Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/11/paris-pre-preview-mitsubishi-to-unveil-production-lancer-sportb/