The new Sportback and Sportback Ralliart have debuted online prior to the Paris Motorshow in a series of stunning images.

Aimed squarely at the popular hatchback and sedan Imprezas, the base Sportback will come in four cylinder 1.5L, 1.8L or 2.0L turbodiesel models, with the Sportback Ralliart recieving a 2.0L, 177kw/321nM turbocharged MIVEC four.

The Evolution X’s AWD system, Twin Clutch SST and Active Centre Differential round out the Sportback’s impressive list of features.

[Source: NetCarShow ]

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart:

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback

Popularity: 6% [?]

As speculated previously, the mystery Mitsubishi teaser images are actually of the upcoming 2009 Mitsubishi Colt. The new Colt shares styling cues clearly poached from the new Lancer.

Both the front and rear of the Colt have been extensively overhauled, to suit the aggressive new snout. The new car comes in both three and five door forms, with an almost micro-van like rear end to increase capacity.

Intended to go head to head with the likes of Toyota’s Yaris and Honda’s Fit/Jazz, the new Mitsubishi can be optioned with fuel sipping 1.1L to 1.5L 4 cylinder petrol engines, and a 1.5L DI-D diesel.

2009 Mitsubishi Colt Teasers

Popularity: 6% [?]

At first glance the teaser displays the now familiar cues we associate with Mitsubishi’s  new Lancer, but the proportions appear a good deal smaller, and the headlights are definitely rounded, as opposed to the standard Lancer’s sharp lights.

Speculation is rife about the new vehicle, but the two likeliest candidates are the Concept cX and the new face-lifted Colt. We’ll see what transpires come October 2nd.

Press Release:

MITSUBISHI 2008 PARIS MOTOR SHOW PRESS CONFERENCE

Three World Premieres

• Press Conference - October 2nd at 10.45 AM, Hall 3
• Keynote speakers: Kurihara-san (Head of Product Strategy at MMC) and Tim Tozer (MME’s President & CEO)
• MMSP (Mitsubishi’s motor sports team) representatives also available

Mitsubishi Motors are happy to welcome you to their stand for their Press Conference at the forthcoming Paris Motor Show, and the unveiling of a string of significant new products, on October 2nd at 10.45 AM, Hall 3.

Three World Premieres:

• Lancer Sportback - Mitsubishi’s distinctive 5-door “Sports Hatch” for the C/D segments.
• Racing Lancer - Mitsubishi’s entry at the 2009 Dakar Rally, modelled after Lancer Sportback and powered by an all-new 3.0 V6 turbo-diesel engine.
• Mitsubishi Motors will reserve a third world premiere for the Paris Motor Show (see below), which can only be discussed on October 2nd.

A European Premiere:
Paris will also see the European premiere of the 240PS Lancer Ralliart, in both Sports Saloon and Sportback (5-door hatch) forms.

Popularity: 2% [?]

To all interstate and local Adelaide Japanese car lovers, a new event is on the horizon! Here’s the low down, straight from the horses mouth:

What is All Japan Day?

Sick and tired of car shows that spend so much time promoting themselves that they’ve forgotten all about the cars?

So was the All Japan Day organising committee! We decided to band together and create a simple event that ‘got back to basics’ and allowed entrants and spectators to do what they love doing best - just admire and talk about the sensational cars on display. By keeping it simple, we’ve also kept the costs down, which has benefited both entrants and spectators.

We are very excited about our inaugural event on 27 April 2008 and we hope its success will encourage suitable entrants from interstate (maybe even overseas? Mazda please send us a 787B racer!) in future years.

So, come and enjoy us for a relaxing day out and be dazzled by some of Australia’s finest Japanese automobiles.

So for those of you in Adelaide who love Japanese cars, head over to the All Japan Day website to learn about becoming an entrant and spectator.

Popularity: 32% [?]

The Concept RA has appeared in Detroit looking like a cross between the new Lancer EVO and (perhaps) the latest generation USDM Mitsubishi Eclipse, or even an Audi TT.

The strictly concept only (Sorry, guys and girls) Concept RA sports a 2.2 litre, DOHC 16-valve 150kw/201HP/420nm high output, clean burn diesel engine, as part of Mitsubishi’s new drive towards eco-friendly performance sports cars.

In order to achieve low consumption while not sacrificing performance means the Concept RA features Mitsubishi’s proprietary MIVEC variable valve control technology, an all aluminum space frame, variable diffuser/variable geometry turbocharger, peizoelectric injector system and also sports some impact resistant, recyclable plastic resin panels as part of it’s construction.

Environmental features include a new catalytic converter system that combines a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), NOx trap catalyst (NTC) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) in addition to the highly efficient 2.2 litre clean burning diesel.

Of course, the Concept RA sports Fulltime 4WD, Twin Clutch SST Transmission, and the new S-AWC (Super-All Wheel Control) most notably seen on the new EVO. As mentioned before on IJ, S-AWC is a combination of existing technologies, Active Center Differential, Active Yaw Control, ABS and Active Stability Control.

Unfortunately though, all this is to be shelved as the car is designed purely as a concept, and won’t challenge either Honda’s offering in the new CRZ (CRX) or Toyota’s rumored new ‘AE86’.

Popularity: 57% [?]