Keisuke Kishiura was asked if he’d bring back Evo, Galant, and Diamante. No Evo revival plans exist yet, despite enthusiastic shareholder requests. Boss also dreams of Mitsubishi returning to WRC competition someday. Mitsubishi fans received a small dose of hope this month when the company’s new president was asked about reviving more of the brand’s most famous nameplates. While he stopped well short of announcing anything concrete, he made it clear he’d like Mitsubishi to become the kind of company that can build another Lancer Evolution. The comments came during Mitsubishi’s annual shareholder meeting in Japan, where one investor urged the automaker to consider resurrecting models like the Lancer Evolution, Galant, and Diamante sedans, after this year bringing back the Pajero. Related: Mitsubishi Lancer EVO Might Not Be As Dead As You Think Much of Mitsubishi’s image during its 1990s and 2000s glory days was built on rally wins and sports sedans, but these days the company is better known for SUVs, pickups, and alliance-driven product sharing, like the badge-engineered Eclipse that’s really a Nissan Leaf. The new Nissan Leaf-based Mitsubishi Eclipse Sportback EV. Sadly, Keisuke Kishiura, a 33-year Mitsubishi veteran who took over as president and COO in April, didn’t offer any product announcements. Instead, he acknowledged the importance of those historic models to the company’s identity.“The Lancer Evolution, Diamante, and Galant are very important cars for Mitsubishi Motors, and we believe that they are treasures,” Japanese outlet Car Watch quotes Kishiura telling investors. “At this time, there are no specific plans to introduce these, but in order to meet your expectations, we would like to make it a company that can produce such a wonderful car again in the future.” That’s about as close to an Evo revival as anyone is getting right now. Interestingly, Kishiura sounds like a genuine car enthusiast himself. During the meeting, he revealed that one of the first cars he ever drove was an old Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo with a manual transmission. Dreams Of A WRC Return He also said he still loves driving and admitted that a factory return to the World Rally Championship would be a dream. Again, when it comes to WRC, there are no solid plans. But hearing a Mitsubishi executive openly talk about WRC and performance cars feels at least like a positive step in the right direction. For now though, the company’s priorities remain elsewhere. Mitsubishi recently outlined a strategy focused on strengthening its lineup of SUVs, off-roaders, ASEAN-market vehicles, and electrified models. It also wants to leverage partnerships with Nissan, Renault, and other companies to reduce development costs. So a new Evo would be an expensive diversion right now, but hey, every performance icon starts as an idea. The Lancer Evolution may not be returning anytime soon, but for the first time in a while, Mitsubishi’s boss is at least talking like someone who’d like it to make it happen. Mitsubishi UK, US
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