Mitsubishi: Threat to survival of Evolution

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution model is safe - for now. Photo / Supplied

Mitsubishi looks set to replace its go-fast Lancer Evolution hero car in favour of a more environmentally sustainable option.

The Japanese carmaker posted a statement on Facebook, saying the current Evolution X model is safe - but it didn't confirm whether a Evo XI model is on the cards.

"Production of the current Lancer Evolution continues as planned," the statement said. "As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture. Stay tuned."

Mitsubishi has said the next-generation Evolution would be hybrid-powered - fitting with claims it wants to launch eight electric or plug-in hybrid cars by 2015.

US motoring newspaper Automotive News quotes Mitsubishi's CEO in the United States, Shinichi Kurihara, as saying the company isn't likely to completely lose a high-performance car from its lineup, but hinted the car could be a product of the brand's green focus.

"I think that kind of duality - eco-friendly and high performance - is very important for us," Kurihara says.

However, new reports suggest the next-generation Mitsubishi performance model could be pure electric - following the lead of brands such as Tesla, with its Lotus Elise-based Roadster, and Nissan, which showed off a new plug-in performance car concept, the Esflow, at the Geneva motor show.

Cars such as the Tesla carry their batteries low in the car's body, keeping its centre of gravity low. Mounting the electric motor in the rear helps even out weight distribution.

Kurihara says achieving that balance could bode well for a plug-in sports car. "That kind of layout - lower centre of gravity, front and rear weight distribution - is almost 50-50," Kurihara told Automotive News.

"If we could get that kind of a [next-generation] battery ... that could be that high-performance vehicle."