The next model built on Mitsubishi’s ‘Project Global’ platform will make its European debut at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show (IAA) – the redesigned Lancer ‘sports sedan’.
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The platform also underpins the second generation Outlander and the Delica D:5 minivan/SUV crossover.
Designed from the outset for world markets to accommodate various regional needs and regulations as well as changing market trends and customer demands, ‘Project Global’ generates economies of scale through built-in flexibility and synergies in design, engineering and manufacturing, MMC said.
The latest Lancer was designed at the automaker’s European design studio in Trebur, near Frankfurt, for world markets – it is already on sale in the US.
It will be launched progressively in Europe from the end of 2007 as a full range of 1.5 litre petrol entry models and mid-range 1.8 litre petrol and two litre diesel versions plus a new Evolution super sports model.
Mitsubishi is also promising unspecified “further variants” of engine. The company has access to other petrol units courtesy of an engine-sharing alliance with Chrysler and Hyundai.
The two-litre diesel engine will come from Volkswagen, and transmission availability, dependent on engine, will include five- and six-speed manuals, CVT, four-speed automatic and six-speed automated manual.
During 2008, a new five-door Lancer ‘Sportback’ will arrive, reviving a hatchback body variant last offered in the Lancer line in the 1990s.
