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Mitsubishi’s Prototype S has just been unveiled at Geneva. Designed in Europe, it will be aimed squarely at the European market. Mitubishi expects this to account for 70 per cent of sales when the car goes to the showrooms in September.
The Prototype S is essentially the finished car in Ralliart trim, said Masaki Matsuhara, Mitsubishi Europe’s general manager of design, who also led the Lancer and Evo X projects. Only the rear lights and headlamps will be fundamentally altered.
Inside the cabin is lifted from the Lancer – show car touches such as the Alcantara dash and woven brown leather seats won’t make production, but the Ralliart will have Evo X-style Recaro seats. The concept’s 19-inch wheels will be replaced by standard 16-inch rims, with 18-inch wheels on the Ralliart.
The car provides Mitsubishi with a model to link the Lancer saloon to the more extreme Evo X and completes the Lancer range. It will be launched with four trim levels – GS1, 2, 3 and 4, with the Ralliart model topping the range. Like the show car, the Ralliart will have a detuned version of the Evo’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder, with 237bhp and 240lb ft, and Mitsubishi’s new seven-speed dual clutch gearbox hooked up to full time four-wheel drive.
The final production version will be shown at the Paris Show in September, but Autocar will be driving it June. Prices will start at £12,500 for the entry-level 1.5-litre petrol, rising to around £21,000 for the Ralliart.
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