Continuing a pre-Geneva show news drip feed, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) said it would be returning to its sporting heritage by deciding to name its new compact SUV Eclipse Cross.
The car has sharp coupé-like contours and Eclipse Cross is a clear reference to the Eclipse sports car developed and built with Chrysler and sold mainly in North America between 1989 and 2012 with 1,400,000+ units produced through four successive generations.
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"Eclipse Cross" also refers to the SUV nature of the new car within a bigger line of core Mitsubishi Sport Utility Vehicles, a strategic direction for the brand, especially in Europe.
"Taking the metaphor one step further, the deep gloss red metallic colour newly developed for this new model – with an equally innovative painting process – is also reflected in the name to evoke the brilliance of the prominence seen during a total solar eclipse," PR blurb said.
According to just-auto's production life research database PLDB, this additional SUV is likely to have been previewed by the eX, a plug-in crossover concept which was first seen at October 2015's Tokyo motor show. The Eclipse Cross should be available with petrol, diesel, EV and PHEV powertrains. It should be larger than the next Outlander Sport/ASX/RVR but smaller than the Outlander, thus taking MMC into a new segment.
