gavriil

Mitsubishi Coupe Shock


The American arm of Mitsubishi chose this month's Detroit motor show to pull the covers off this wild and innovative 450-plus-bhp sports coupe, called the Eclipse Concept-E.

A thinly-veiled look at the fourth- generation Eclipse, due in the US as a 2006 model, the two-plus-two-seater Concept-E is designed to show that the Lancer Evo isn't the only kind of performance car that Mitsubishi can do. Designed in the company's Los Angeles studios, the coupe concept has mould-breaking looks and plenty of attitude.

Many will see it as Mitsubishi's answer to the Nissan 350Z and Audi TT. It's about the same size, at 170in long, and fits into much the same part of the sports-coupe market. Stylistically, it's also somewhere in the Nissan-Audi ballpark.

Traditionally, the Eclipse has always been front-drive, but the Concept-E has been built around a sophisticated hybrid four-wheel-drive system based on front and rear engines. A 3.8-litre V6, complete with variable valve timing and lift, is supplemented by an 'E-Boost' electric motor. Mitsubishi admits, however, that such a system is a long way off being installed in a production car. If a car similar to the Concept-E were to go into production, it would probably be powered by a conventional four-cylinder petrol engine to help keep the price down.

The exterior detailing on the car is certainly spectacular. The Concept-E gets plasma head and tail lights and something wonderfully exotic called 'neon crackle tube' indicator and brake lights. It rides on nine-spoke, 20-inch wheels fitted with wide, ultra-low-profile tyres. There are Brembo discs and neat, racing-style side exhausts.The glass roof probably wouldn't make it into production, though.

The interior is almost as dramatic as the outer skin, with what Mitsubishi calls a 'wave design' facia and a set of expensive-looking 'metalised' leather sports seats. Company bosses will await reaction to the coupe concept with keen interest. For Mitsubishi, still facing a hard and uncertain road in the US, the Concept-E could be just the image-builder it needs.

Source: Autoexpress

heyitsme

that thing is truely hideous.

Infamous425

they turned it into a boat therefore the need for a v6. stupid mitsu

Black CL-S 4-Life

If its based on the Galant platfrorm it will suck!

gavriil

Kinda looks like the Mitsu Tarmac concept we saw last year from Mitsu..

blackmagiCL_S

Different at least. I'll wait until I see the production model.

charliemike

Some people here just cannot be pleased

Has a turbo-4? Bah, it should have a V6 to compete with the 350z

Has a V6? Bah, it's too heavy. Not in the spirit of the old Eclipse.

Sheesh

Reddly9007

with the camo it looks like a tiburon, why in the hell did they ever get ride of the turbo, and the GS-X. They bring those back they can put that car right into competition with the EVO-8, SRT-4 and STI, would make the car industry a little more fun

charliemike

Why would they make a competitor to their own car? Where's the sense in that?

gavriil

Hehehe... I hear ya...

gavriil

All they really need is a modern interpretation of the 2nd generation Eclipse with less lag and more power. And as much as they can improve on the steering. Then you have another winner.

gavriil

gavriil

By Kathy Jackson
Automotive News / January 05, 2004

With the Eclipse Concept-E, Mitsubishi hopes to show the world that it can compete with style as well as technology.

The car, a gasoline-electric hybrid 2+2 with all-wheel drive, features plasma running headlamps and taillights as well as neon turn signals and brake lights.

Mitsubishi unveiled it on Monday.

It is the first Eclipse drawn under Olivier Boulay, the French-born general manager of design at Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Boulay, 46, led the design team for the Mercedes-Benz Maybach. He is on leave from Mercedes-Benz to bring excitement to Mitsubishi, which is controlled by DaimlerChrysler AG.

"They asked me to take on Mitsubishi and redesign the brand," Boulay said. "The design department is doing a very good job. It has a lot of strengths, a lot of experience, but they couldn't pull it all together. So my job is to do that: Make it a Japanese brand and quit copying the Americans.

"The Japanese know how to make cars. Now it's time for them to go their own way with design and stop leaning so much on American design."

Two goals

David O'Connell, design director for Mitsubishi Motors North America, says the purpose of the concept car is twofold: to show the new direction for the fourth-generation Eclipse and to show off the company's hybrid capabilities. The production version is due in the 2006 model year.

The car's exterior color is a glowing orange. The lights and side mirrors have a teardrop theme. It has a lunging posture with 20-inch wheels, performance tires, rear wing spoiler, side exhausts and a glass roof.

The plasma lights run from the front to the back. The neon brake and taillights are connected, projecting continuous bright display. The car is powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 generating 269 hp for the front wheels and a 150 kW electric motor that drives both the front and rear wheels for a total of 470 hp. It uses a six-speed automated manual transmission that allows the driver to drive in either a manual or automatic mode.

The interior has leather seats and an instrument panel with neon lighting.

Michael Desmond, a designer with Mitsubishi Motors North America, was the lead interior and exterior designer of the Eclipse concept. His mission: Give Mitsubishi some presence at the all-important Detroit auto show.

"When you do a car in Detroit and have to compete with so many people, the company wants me to go all out," Desmond said. "I wanted to take it to the next level and elaborate on it more. It's sexier, slicker. This is the flagship of creativity for the company."

Wide appeal

Boulay said he believes the new Eclipse will appeal to consumers of all ages because it is designed to look more expensive than the current model, but it will be priced similarly to that vehicle.

Boulay thinks Mitsubishi was ahead of some companies with new design ideas but admits a lack of cash and a lack of marketing savvy has hurt the company.

He said: "We have to rev it up and make sure our products start appealing to everyone."

Source: Auto News

chungkopi

ass is too big.. and don't like it's smiley face

gavriil

Source: Auto News

cusdaddy

very strange

Sarlacc

just not feeling that car at all.

gavriil

By Bengt Halvorson

The Concept-E "shows what you can expect in the fourth generation of the Eclipse," declared Mitsubishi's head of U.S. operations, Finbarr O'Neill. Both the Concept-E and the next-generation production Eclipse ride on the same platform as the Galant sedan and Endeavor SUV (termed PS within the company), which has the capability for standard all-wheel-drive systems, so we can assume that since a hybrid powertrain is featured on the Concept-E, variations are being considered for those cars as well.

Although we're sure Mitsubishi and designers didn't like the term "cab-forward" being mentioned, the Concept-E's raked silhouette - with the base of the windshield far forward and very little overhang in front - stands distinct from the trend for small sports-coupe concepts at the show this year, which seem to taking on longer hoods and slung-back cabins. Richard Plavetich, director of Mitsubishi's MDA Design Center and a key member of the car's design team, said that the inspiration for the car's shape was a pouncing cat. The shape carries an implied motion, he added.

The Concept-E serves as a testing bed for a new performance-oriented hybrid system. Unlike existing hybrid systems that emphasize economy, this system would provide the "economy of a V-6 Eclipse with the performance of a Ferrari," said Plavetich. He's not joking; the hybrid system provides a much more favorable (nearly 50/50) weight distribution, and it's tuned to only send power to the back wheels under high-performance driving (or under more subtle conditions when traction is needed). A 269-hp V-6 gasoline V-6 drives the front wheels through an automated six-speed manual transmission, while a powerful 150 kW (about 200 hp) electric motor powers the rear wheels, for a total of 470 hp for short bursts. The system has been fully developed (they've had the car out on the track), and is a blast to drive, we're told.

So is the hybrid system a go? "It's completely feasible," deadpanned Plavetich, but he added that now the question remains as to whether customers would be willing to fork over extra money for the model, hinting that it might mean an extra $6k to $8k to the sticker price, and that the car's reception by the press and showgoers would help test those waters.

Source: The Car Connection

gavriil

ViperrepiV

i like the lights (head and tail)

thatguy

looks like a future car from when i was younger

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

i think it looks hot.