I find the current Mitsubishi Eclipse a pretty sharp-looking car– in an entirely swoopy, bulbous kind of way. But I wouldn't drive it again if you paid me. Other than the Chrysler PT Turbo, the 263hp front wheel-drive Eclipse is one of the most torque-steerific cars I've ever driven. I reckon the Eclipse WANTS to throw itself at a tree. Anyway, our man Avarvarii has caught wind of Mitsubishi's RA concept car, set for its world debut at the TTAC-denied North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). "I've seen sketches of that concept and I am confident it is a prelude for the future Eclipse. Therefore in my rendering I used some details from those sketches, blended with the rationalities of a production model. As you can see, the next Eclipse will have a fascia resembling to that of the EVO X, obviously, modified to suit a lower and wider coupe." If Mitsu's still planning on sending the power through the Eclipse's front wheels, I reckon they should make it Aztek ugly to stop luring young drivers to their doom. Just sayin'.
[For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here.]
The next gen Eclipse needs to be rear-wheel drive, considerably lighter and have a V-6 as the base engine. It’s time to dump the 4-bangers in sports coupes and make the Eclipse a pony car to run with the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger (or is it Charger, I can’t keep the two straight, probably because I don’t give a damn about it).
I’m trying to think of another 4-cylinder sports coupe but with the deaths of the RSX, Celica, and Tiburon, I can’t. I guess Mitsubishi owns that (niche) market.
If Subaru built a coupe on the Impreza chassis and drive train I think it would be the death of most 6 cylinders sports coupes…
They did make an all-wheel drive eclipse at one point (the alltrac model). But ecplipse’s never had the best handling at a fwd. Something Honda nailed, but Mitsu didn’t. I do like the look of the new eclipse, but everybody has said the same thing about it, needs to be rwd or all-wheel, but at least an lsd to help.
B-Rad – there is the civic si you know, plus the errr, SRT4 (bleah it’s now a caliber).
Scion tC is also a competitor for the 4-cyl Eclipse.
“I reckon they should make it Aztek ugly to stop luring young drivers to their doom. Just sayin’.”
Not really a problem – young drivers wouldn’t be caught dead in the current Eclipse.
Nobody I know wants that car. Its kind of a big joke amongst the sport compact scene. They remember the AWD turbo car that weighed 600 lbs less and still fiend for that, or lust over the EVO.
dolo54 – the all-trac was a Celica with the 3s-gte (MR-2 turbo) engine.
The AWD Eclipse was the GSX with the 4g63 (EVO) engine.
Dolo, you’re right they did. I don’t think it was called the all-trac, though. I guess there are still a couple four-cylinder coupes out there, but the whole segment seems to have lost its luster with the deaths of the cars I mentioned earlier. I still think Mitsu oughta give up on it. Maybe give the Eclipse a new name with new drivetrain offerings.
my bad, celica was indeed the alltrac, thanks cretinx
I miss the old DSMs. So what if they made a rotary look reliable, they were fun little cars. Once Mitsu started marketing them towards the chick market and ditched the 4G63, it all went down hill.
Didn’t they have a concept several years back that was mid-engine and RWD And then a hybrid with the electric motor on the rear wheels mated to a standard FWD. Why don’t they try producing these cars instead of teasing us with them. That GSX was a hell of a car.
I don’t care how pretty it looks. If it doesn’t have a turbo four and all wheel drive, then it’s just another poseur machine.
Don’t forget about the current Eclipse’s old fashioned iron-block engine.
Not only is it FWD, but it has a hugely uneven weight distrobution.