05 Mar 08
The Prototype-S is a preview of the five-door Lancer Ralliart.
It looks a little more practical and larger-booted than the Concept Sportback, the first sight of the five-door Lancer's design, and this Geneva show car has the same 240bhp/253lb ft 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and twin-clutch sequential-shift gearbox as the Lancer Ralliart
seen at the Detroit Motor Show. Check out its nose, too - this front-end design will be echoed by the upcoming revised Colt supermini.
The mainstream Lancer hatchback will go on sale in the UK in September with the same 1.5-, 1.8-litre and 2.0 diesel engines as the saloon. This Ralliart variant - complete with the Evo IX's four-wheel-drive system, active yaw control and active centre differential, but not quite such an advanced system as the Evo X's - will fit in the range between the mainstream models and the all-out 295lb ft/300lb ft Evo X, and will give Mitsubishi a rival to the 225bhp 2.5-litre Subaru Impreza WRX. The Ralliart will not be offered in saloon form.
Prices for the Lancer Ralliart will start from around £21,000. There's also talk of an FQ300 version tuned by HKS for 300bhp; this would be a £4000 upgrade.
Check out the rest of our Geneva Motor Show coverage.
