Would you buy a Pajero Sport EVO? Mitsubishi wants a high-performance SUV that could take on Toyota's GR brand: "We can provide that super-high-performance"

Mitsubishi's performance dream isn't dead yet, with the brand's design chief outlining his desire for a "super-high-performance SUV".

But before you get too excited, the Mitsubishi brand's head of design, Seiji Watanabe, made it clear he was reading form his own personal wish list, not an actual product planning document.

Speaking at the Japanese launch of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV, which will touch down in Australia next year, Mr C said his time behind the wheel made him believe Mitsubishi has a future in the performance space, highlighting a go-hard SUV as his target space.

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"This is just a personal opinion - I cannot say the detail of the future. But for me, for Mitsubishi, the strongest (thing) is one of performance," he says.

"I feel that after driving the PHEV system, including the next-generation PHEV also, I had a very strong impression - it’s so smooth, so fast, so quiet, yet very powerful, and very controllable or manoeuvrable driving - that we can provide that super high-performance SUV and 4WD system in the future.

While he wouldn't be drawn on exactly what that future might look like, Mr Watanabe told media that cars like the Eclipse Cross were "just a starting point" for the brand's performance intentions.

"I feel, in the future, I think Mitsubishi wants to push more performance design. This is a starting point. Just a starting point," he said.

The big question, of course, is when that future might take shape. Mitsubishi - and its Alliance partners Nissan and Renault - are in a cost-cutting phase at the moment, focusing on building efficiencies in the design and manufacturing processes. There's also the fact that a performance car hasn't yet appeared on any of the company's forward-planning documents.