Mitsubishi Australia the Lancer hatch would be popular if it materialised.
The future for the latest Lancer lies in the form of a hatchback.
Mitsubishi's vision for a hatch version of its new Lancer will gain substance with the unveiling of a production-ready prototype at the Geneva motor show in March.
While the five-door Prototype-S is yet to be confirmed for production, markets around the world — including Australia — are gearing up for its arrival.
“A hatch would be a fantastic addition to the Lancer range,” Mitsubishi Australia spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher says.
“It is certainly something we are looking at very closely. Traditionally, when Mitsubishi shows a prototype after having shown an initial concept then you can guess it is pretty close to a production car.”
Fletcher says the strength of the hatch market in Australia, and the paucity of such body styles in recent Lancer line-ups, makes the possibility of the new model especially exciting.
“It is certainly something we could work with ... of course we have to go through the usual process of building a business case but it is something to anticipate,” she says.
From the front, the Prototype-S sports the Mitsubishi design identity of inverted-slant nose with trapezoidal grille, while the sleek rear lines echo the 2005 Concept-Sportback show car.
Much of the mechanical package is shared with the Ralliart Lancer unveiled at the recent Detroit show; with the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder DOHC MIVEC 1 engine producing 177kW of power and 343Nm of torque.
That drive is through Mitsubishi's new twin-clutch SST automated manual transmission and a full-time all-wheel-drive.
The Prototype-S features the active centre differential (ACD) that uses an electronically controlled multi-plate hydraulic clutch to split torque between the front and rear wheels, delivering optimum balance and traction on changing surfaces.
While there has been no word of an Evolution X version of the hatch, the mechanical specifications of the Prototype-S lend strength to speculation of a Ralliart version.
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