Mitsubishi Shows Off Its Tokyo Concepts
The world seems pretty engrossed with the Frankfurt auto show right now, so
much so that another major international auto show has been completely overshadowed. The Tokyo Motor Show, which is set to go on in less than a month will see the introduction of many new and important concepts and models that will predict what'll be on the roads of the future. So, let's take a break from Germany and have a look at what Mitsubishi will be showing off to its home market.
The first big introduction will be the Concept-ZT. It's a striking looking sedan that takes inspiration from the Lancer sports sedan, a car that is really helping to give the brand a true, defined image. At 194.9 inches long, with a wheelbase of 110.8 inches, the ZT is quite a large car, which might be a hint that this could be the replacement to the Galant, or perhaps even the introduction of a new large sedan that would take the spot of the defunct Diamante.
The ZT is powered by a brand new 2.2-liter turbodiesel engine with four cylinders that Mitsubishi has been developing to meet the new Clean Diesel standards. It makes 188 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, which is plenty to move a sedan of this size around. The ZT also draws on some of the technologies you might've heard about in the upcoming Lancer Evolution including the S-AWC all-wheel drive system and the SST dual-clutch transmission. This leads us to believe that the Concept-ZT is based off of the Lancer platform.
The next car is more of a custom alteratio
n on an existing car. For those of you that remember the i, the little kei car that's been racking up trophies at a surprising rate, it's playing a huge part in Mitsubishi's recent success. Mitsubishi is using the i as a platform for its electric car program; the i MiEV Sport Concept takes these principles and packages them in a brand new sporting body.
Where the cute i, through its narrow, curvy and upright bodywork looks a bit like an alien, the Concept Mitsubishi created looks much like a sports car due to the parabolic shape of the roof and the sporty side intakes for the mid-mounted engine. Like the electric i that is currently undergoing testing, the Sport features three electric engines; one to power the rear wheels, and a pair of Mitsubishi's in-wheel electric motors to move the front units. To this system, Mitsubishi has added various sensors and controls to create the Electronic Active Yaw Control (E-AYC), making for an electric version of the brand's Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) all-wheel drive system for maximum traction, performance and stability.