Mitsubishi Lancer 2010 News

He says most of their customers are people who have been given a rally lesson as a gift."Almost exclusively it"s a gift from a female to a guy as a Father"s day, birthday or Christmas present," he says."Only about 10 per cent of our customers are females.Our customers are often people who are hard to buy presents for.They already have everything like a big screen TV and this is a bit different."RallySchool last year conducted courses for almost 5000 customers over 153 days in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.Of those, 80 days were in Sydney, 30 in Victoria, 22 in Perth and eight each in Queensland and South Australia, but this year Ryan plans to increase the Victorian courses to 52, South Australia to 14 and Queensland to 10.The courses include six-lap drives, 12-lap drives, and half-day and full-day courses with prices from $195 to $995.They also host corporate events and level two instruction which leads to CAMS licensing, however Ryan says only about one percent of their customers ever progress to competition level."Most people have had very limited previous competition experience and aren't interested in competing," he says. "We want to teach them driving skills and promote the sport. We want to show them how addictive it is." RallySchool has over 50 instructors with about half competing at varying levels from club to international."We have six instructors at each event with an average of about 100 years" shared experience," Ryan says.Currently among their team is Ben Atkinson who began driving in club rally championships in 1999, but has mainly filled his trophy cabinet as co-driver to his brother and former World Rally Championship driver Chris, plus Cody Crocker, the most successful driver in the history of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.I recently attended a half-day course with 10 other drivers at the Ipswich-based Willowbank track, which Ryan says is the fastest in the country with its clay base.The event begins with a briefing in which Ryan explains the fundamentals of rally driving and how it differs from road driving."The instructors will encourage you to go faster by pressing harder on the brake pedal," he says."Keep both hands on the steering wheels at 3 and 9 o'clock because you need to know at all times where your front wheels are pointing."You need your front wheels pointing down the road and you need to look down the road not where the car is pointed."He advises we leave it in third gear around the tight circuit to reduce the amount of wheelspin.Sceptical drivers head out with an instructor and pretty soon find out that the old dictum of "in slow, out fast" really works and a higher gear than you would normally select provides more control over the driving wheels. The cars have limiters to prevent you going ridiculously fast, but still hurtle around the track at higher speeds than most can handle.They run on normal road tyres to avoid churning up the track, but apart from the rubber and some suspension tweaks, the vehicles are virtually race ready. Pretty soon instructors have the novice drivers picking up speed and confidence and returning to the pits with a grin as wide as their outstretched arms.As Ryan says, "the guys on TV make it look easy". Having never driven on a dirt track before, I first had to "un-learn" a lot of tar habits such as trailing the brake and using a wide arc through corners. On the dirt, he says you get your braking over in a straight line and you stick to the "clean line" on the inside of the corner where the best grip is. They don't teach the "Scandinavian flick" or handbrake cornering, but they do teach valuable lessons in car feel and control.Each driver gets four six-lap sessions, one in each car (Lancer, Subaru and Ford ute), and the fourth in the car of their choice. Around the country, RallySchool has 14 vehicles: two Ford utes, one Holden ute, eight Subaru WRX STi sedans and four Evo Lancers.The three cars used at Willowbank are spread out on the track at the same time, so there is little down time for customers. They also rotate through a second Subaru as a passenger with Atkinson showing them the finer points of rally driving.To cap it off, customers also experience a hot lap with a rally driver, which puts their own brave attempts into perspective. The hot laps are a real adrenalin rush, but they also show just how far off the pace you are. For an extra $50, customers can also buy a video of their experience.Brad Hooper, 32, drove five hours up from Kempsey in his Golf GTI to take part in the course. "The instructor gets you to pick up your speed quite quickly," he says.The motorsport fan who also owns a Ducati 1098 motorcycle was given the gift by his wife, Kathryn, two years ago.Michael Whitehouse, 46, of Brisbane, has no interest in motorsport and was given the course as a present from his partner, Lynne Newbury."It's just an adrenalin rush," he said after his drive. Newbury bought the course for Whitehouse "because he has everything else"."I thought it best to buy him an experience he will remember," she says. "Now he can tick that one off his bucket list."WHAT I LEARNTI will never be Chris Atkinson;I drive too fast into corners and don"t use enough brake;If you go slower into the corner, you can get on the throttle earlier and achieve more terminal speed on the next straight;Braking transfers weight to the front wheels which gives them more grip and steering feel; The smoother you drive, the less you unsettle the car.SNAPSHOTWHAT: Rally driving lessonsWHERE: Richmond, Toronto NSW, Willowbank QLD, Werribee VIC, Tailem Bend SA and Bakers Hill WAHOW MUCH: six-lap drives ($195), 12-lap drives ($375), half-day ($555) and full-day course ($995)WHO: RallySchoolWEB: rallyschool.com.auPHONE: 1800 208 000

Ralliart - a name synonymous with performance and motorsport success both on and off road - will be absorbed back into Mitsubishi Motors Corporation at the end of this month.Ralliart Inc president Masao Taguchi announced the company - established in April, 1984 as the central body for its growing motor sport program - had fallen victim to the economic downturn which had ‘radically changed’ the business circumstances for the brand. "We have reached the conclusion that we would scale down our business activities as of the end of March 2010.  "We would like to express our sincere apology to all of customers," he says in the statement.Australian customers - both private and motorsport - are unlikely to be heavily impacted by the change in Ralliart's circumstances.  Mitsubishi spokesperson Lenore Fletcher says the change in Ralliart will have little impact on Australia."My understanding of the situation is that the Ralliart brand has been brought back under the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) umbrella.  The thing to understand here is that the Ralliart vehicles and Evolution vehicles have always been under MMC in any case, developed by MMC in conjunction with Ralliart.Mitsubishi Australia says between 2004 and this year about 3100 Ralliart-branded cars have been sold here, with a further 100 Lancer Ralliart Evolution VI Tommi Makinen imported in mid-2001.  "The only area that I understand that it effects is parts for competitors and enthusiasts, but it won't have any effect here as they can go to the same outlets that they went to before - basically it's business as usual."Our dealers are going on as they do currently, there won't be any changes to numbers - so I don't see any impact on Australian competitors," she says.The company has a long history in motorsport globally since its was founded as Andrew Cowans Motorsports Limited by Cowan, who won Mitsubishi's first international motorsport title at the 1972 Southern Cross Rally - the first of five wins at the NSW event.Ralliart's highlights include the 1998 Manufacturers' World Rally Championship title, four drivers' championship titles for Tommi Makinen between 1996 and 1999 and a record twelve victories in the Dakar Rally since 1982.

BATHURST veterans John Bowe and Paul Morris pulled off a major upset when they shared Garry Holt's BMW 335i in a victorious run in the Bathurst 12-hour production car race. Morris and Holt are previous winners in the same car but they were expected to have no chance against hordes of Lancer Evos, including the car of pole sitter Steve Owen, on a rainy day at Mount Panorama that even saw the race stopped while a fallen tree was removed from the course at the top of Conrod Straight.JAMIE McMurray was the surprise winner of Nascar's blue-ribon event, the Daytona 500, after a series of stoppages to try and repair track   damage. Marcos Ambrose went out of the race after just 80 laps with a terminal engine oil leak that sent him to the garage.MIKKO Hirvonen took first points in the Swedish Rally when he beat   defending and six-time world champion Sebastian Loeb into second on the snow-covered winter event. Hirvonen led from the start in his Ford Focus and his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala was third, although high-profile stars Marcus Gronholm, Petter Solberg and F1 refugee Kimmi Raikkonen were all back in the pack after problems including off-road excoursions.PAUL Morris gets an unplanned early start to his V8 Supercar season in Abu Dhabi this weekend when he takes Greg Murphy's seat in the new Castrol Commodore. Murphy has clashing commitments with the Top Gear Live world tour but will be in the Middle East in time for round two of the series in Bahrain.THE new look for the 2010 contenders in the Formula One championship includes longer chassis and removal of fully-faired wheel covers. The aero additions to the cars' wheels were banned as a safety move after a wheel came off Fernando Alonso's Renault last year when the cover was not properly secured.MOTOGP racers Jorge Lorenzo and Nicky Hayden are battling to get back   to pre-season testing with Yamaha and Ducati because of injury dramas. Lorenzo hurt his hand when he fell off a motocross bike during pre-season training while Hayden is recovering from surgery on his right arm to try and overcome what is called 'arm-pump', a common problem for many riders.MARK Skaife is busy designing another V8 Supercar track as he trims the course for the 2010 SuperCarnivale on the Gold Coast. Skaife was   the chief designer for the Townsville and Sydney circuits which joined the championship in 2009 and is responsible for the layout and safety of the Queensland track as it takes a major cut from the course previously used for IndyCar events.RETIRED F1 racer David Coulthard could make a comeback this year in the German Touring Car Championship. He has already tested a Mercedes-Benz racer in a move which means he could follow his former team mate   Mika Hakkinen - as well as retired F1 drivers Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jean Alesi and Keke Rosbert _ who turned to touring   cars once he was finished in grand prix racing.DANICA Patrick made the worst possible start to her career as a stock car driver, crashing out of the second-tier Nationwide Series season   opener at Daytona last weekend. The IndyCar driver is eventually planning a fulltime switch to the Sprint Cup but only qualified 15th   and was eventually caught up in a 10-car pileup that caused too much damage for her Chevrolet to continue.A radical new racecar, similar to 1950s 'car of the future' concepts in the American motor industry, is one of the proposals for a new chassis for the 2012 IndyCar World Series in the USA. The car, called the DeltaWing, looks more like the Batmobile than a traditional Indy 500 open-wheel runner but will have to beat out proposals from specialist makeers Lola, Swift and Dallara to win the next car contract.

"In the current economic climate everybody is looking for better value for money without compromise," Mitsubishi Australia president and CEO Robert McEniry says. "The new Lancer line-up lets our customers have this without breaking the bank." The Lancer range, which accounted for almost half of all sales for the triple-diamond brand last month, has been freshened with some minor exterior style changes, more extensive interior freshening and a limited edition RX model (from $21,990) with unique badging and wheel designs to sit beside the entry ES cars. Across-the-range changes include a new-look instrument cluster, improved ETACS (Electronic Total Automobile Control), synchronised windscreen washers, and premium VRX-style tail lamps as standard on all variants. The ES also gets extra storage with a floor console box and the availability of optional side and curtain airbags. Exterior changes to the mid-range VR model include a new chrome upper grille, and alloy wheel design while NVH has been improved with the inclusion of an insulated front windscreen to cut down on road noise. The high-end Rockford Fosgate audio system is also available as an option. The VRX and Aspire also win the sound-deadening windscreen and the premium audi system as standard. ES, RX, VR, VRX and Ralliart models are available with a sedan or Sportback body, with the premium Aspire offered solely as a sedan.

Over the years it's often been hidden in the shadows of its big brothers, Magna and Verada. This is a shame because it's a very competent car in its own right, it's built to a high standard and is simple to drive, with handling that's better than average for the type. Ride comfort is generally good but rough roads can rattle things about at times, especially in the budget-priced variants. The latest, all-new Lancer was released half-way through 2007 and, as is often the case with new releases, this has renewed interest in the model as a whole. It's been a consistently good seller in recent years, meaning that there are plenty on the used car scene. The older model Lancers are a little smaller than the latest one, which is approaching the original Mitsubishi Magna in size. However, some of the added size is to let it conform to crash safety laws so there isn't as much extra interior space as you might expect. Interior space is good in the front, but can be marginal in the rear if the front seats are adjusted rearwards to suit tall occupants. Rear seat headroom can be tight in the hatches, but is generally fine in the sedans and wagons. Lancer is simple to drive and park and has long been a favourite with those living in the suburbs and inner-city areas. It's OK in the bush and doesn't get knocked around too badly on rough roads, though this isn't the habitat it was aimed at. Handling is better than average for the type, though you wouldn't really call the Lancer a driver's machine. The Lancer MR coupe of 1997 to 2004 has firmer suspension and tauter steering so is an exception to the rule and has gained a reasonable reputation among those in the hot-four scene. There have been many Lancer body types over the years; two-door coupes, three-door hatches, four-door sedans and five-door station wagons. However, not all were on sale at all times. Note that there was an overlap with the station wagon as it didn't always change its design at the same time as the rest of the range. Thus we sometimes saw the old wagons being sold for up to two years alongside the new sedans. Three-door hatches prior to 1996 were called Lancers but the name was changed to Mirage with the introduction of the new model of that year. However, Mirage shares quite a few under-the-skin parts with Lancer and many of the remarks here can be heeded by potential Mirage buyers. Under the bonnet Lancer engines are all four-cylinder units. They had a displacement of 1.5 litres in the early days, a 1.8-litre unit being used in the upmarket versions from 1992 and a 2.0-litre in most models from 2002. The 1.5 engine used a carburettor until 1996 and fuel injection from then onwards. Because the Lancer was approaching the end of its life, August 2005 saw a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine being squeezed under the bonnet to grab sales away from the competition. This big engine has plenty of torque for safe overtaking, yet it doesn't use a lot more fuel than the smaller engines as it's running in a lightly stressed condition almost all of the time. This engine is the one to go for if your budget is up to it. Manual gearboxes are all five-speed units. Automatic transmissions on most older models were three-speed units until 1996, when they moved up to four speeds. The hot Lancer GSR of 1992 to 1996 is a rally-based special with all-wheel-drive and a hot twin-cam, turbo engine. It can cost big money to insure, service and repair, and is best left to the revheads. Lancer GSR models prior to the turbocharged version used a non-turbo 1.6-litre and have far less performance than the later model. The highly specialised, highly priced Lancer Evolution models are even further up the performance scale and are so far removed from the rest of the Lancer range that we'll ignore them here. Spare parts and repair prices are about average for this class and the Australian Mitsubishi dealer network is widespread and works efficiently. The Lancer is relatively easy for the home mechanic to work on, with good under-bonnet space and a conventional layout. Insurance charges are about average for the class, though you are likely to be charged substantially more for the hot GSR. Danger signs If possible, start the engine when it is completely cold. It should fire up within a couple of seconds and idle reasonably smoothly and quietly straight away. Carburettor engines, only fitted until 1996, won't be quite as smooth or tractable when cold as fuel-injected ones, but if one seems too bad call in an expert for advice. If the engine puffs oily smoke from the exhaust under hard acceleration it may be due for an overhaul. Feel for an automatic transmission that is slow to engage gear or is inclined to change up and down unnecessarily. A manual gearbox should be slick and easy to use. If not there could be troubles — fast changes down through the gears will show the problem first. Check for previous body repairs by looking for ripples in the panels, paint that doesn't match correctly from one panel to another, and tiny spots of paint on glass, badges, body trim and so on. Rust is uncommon but check the lower areas of the body and the bottom corners of the doors, tailgate or boot lid as applicable. A Lancer GSR may have had a hard life in the hands of an amateur rally driver. Look for full-harness safety belts, a roll cage, rally instruments and driving lights. Check for under body damage and for panel repairs. Also listen for a noisy turbo and/or one that's slow to respond to the throttle.  

Mitsubishi Motors Australia revealed its Subaru WRX-chasing Lancer Ralliart at the Melbourne Motor Show. The price will probably be about $40,000 when it goes on sale in August. The newest Lancer family member is designed as a stepping stone between the ES, VR, VRX and blistering Evolution X. Mitsubishi president Robert McEniry describes the Ralliart as a “tougher version of the street-model Lancer.” The Ralliart is powered by a slightly detuned version of the 2.0-litre Mivec intercooled and turbocharged engine available in the Evolution X. Despite its lower state of tune, the car still pumps out 177kW and 343Nm and misses little in the way of performance features. It comes with Mitsubishi's twin-clutch sportronic shift transmission (TC-SST) automated manual transmission and full-time AWD with an active centre differential. Visually, the Ralliart has a distinctive front bumper design, rear spoiler and dual exhausts. Apart from the Lancer Ralliart, Mitsubishi will roll out the Lancer Sportback hatch later in the year. The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart has a distinctive front bumper.  

The boosted Lancer, expected to carry the Ralliart name, will slot into the line-up below the red-hot EVO model. The range will be similar to Subaru's Impreza stable, which has a turbo AWD WRX as the main performance model with a faster, more expensive STI as the hero car. It will be the first time Mitsubishi can offer an affordable WRX rival since the cult GSR Lancer more than 10 years ago. The Japanese carmaker has adopted a "bang for your bucks" approach, kicking-off with the Ralliart version of the Colt baby car. Apart from giving the struggling model some positive publicity, the turbo model has added about 40 Colt sales a month. Mitsubishi added to the build-up of the next-generation Lancer -- the brand's best-selling model in Australia -- by releasing a sketch of the car to be unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January. More aggressive, it bears similarities to the Concept X at Frankfurt last year. The Lancer, which will be bigger than current models, is to arrive in Australia next September. A standard model will be the first to go on sale with a new generation 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine that is expected to produce about 120kW. A 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a diesel will be offered in Europe, but are unlikely here initially. The performance turbo AWD model, to compete with the WRX, joins the range in the first half of 2008 along with full-on EVO model. Mitsubishi offers a wagon version of the Lancer, but it is unclear whether a similar load hauler is part of the next Lancer plan. JAMES STANFORD A classic for everyone Classic cars owned by a mystery collector attracted $1.1 million last weekend at a Sydney auction. Some 95 cars went to a new home, while a further 58 are being referred to the vendor. The top sellers were a 1959 Jaguar XK150, selling for $79,100, a Ford V6 Capri RS3100, which went for double what was expected at $72,320 and a 1963 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III, for $50,850. The cheapest model to sell on the day was a 1978 Opel Rekord, which attracted $678. About 700 people attended the auction with a further 70 customers bidding by telephone. The collector, a businessman who wishes to remain anonymous, amassed the 153 vehicles during a 30 year period, storing them in garages around NSW. It was the biggest private collection of classic cars offered at a public auction in Australia, outdoing both the Lindsay Fox and John Laws collections. A 1981 De Lorean sold for a tasty $45,200, a 1953 Riley went for $25,000 and a 1981 Holden Brock Commodore fetched $32,700. "There were so many different marques on offer within diverse price ranges," says Bonhams and Goodman chief executive officer Tim Goodman, who conducted the auction. Base commitment Hyundai will cement its commitment to Australia with a new $70 million headquarters in Sydney. At a groundbreaking ceremony this week Hyundai chief executive Steve Yeo says the new building will house Hyundai's Australian operations into the future. "It is a very substantial investment for us but it was an opportunity that we simply could not miss," Yeo says. Yeo says the multi-storey building in Macquarie Park, North Ryde, will provide enough space for Hyundai with an opportunity for future growth. Hyundai cars have been in Australia since 1986 with the marque adopting manufacturer/importer status in 2003.

The last locally available Evo from a few years back was a tweaked Ralliart version of the Evo VI. As usual, the new model is based on a four door sedan body and is a road going evolution of cars used in the World Rally Championship. That's where the Evo name comes from. It's a bigger car than ever growing in wheelbase and overall size and weight is up by 200kg compared to Evo VI, to around 1400kg. This is despite weight saving measures such as greater use of aluminium and carbon fibre in the body and other components. Power is down a tad to 195kW with torque around the same at 355Nm. Acceleration is also not quite up to the previous model at 6.1 seconds for the 0-100kmh dash. You'd be forgiven for thinking the VIII is a dumbed down version of the Evo but you'd be wrong. Driveability is better than ever and the VIII is possibly a quicker car point to point thanks to superior dynamics and the stiffer body. All its underpinnings have been tried and tested in the cut and thrust of international rallying and it shows. While there isn't any real ground breaking new technology, the car is subtly refined and each system and component upgraded to deliver better perform- ance. It retains all the good bits like the active centre differential and active yaw control which gives a 10 per cent gain in traction. The suspension is upgraded front and rear as are the brakes which feature multi piston Brembo calipers and large discs with "sport" ABS. The ABS is integrated into the cars steering and features G sensors for optimum stopping power. Engine revisions in the 2.0-litre, twin cam, four cylinder are significant and are aimed at reliability and lower emissions as well as stronger response across the rev range. The torque curve is flat thanks in part to the Evo's twin scroll turbo which has virtually no lag. Boost pressure is up to 0.9 bar from 0.8. Redline is 70000rpm. Though a six speed manual is available overseas, it seems superfluous when you drive the strengthened five speeder sold here. On the road the new Evo is a sensational drive, a real rocketship with startling acceleration always on tap. And all this go is harnessed by the dynamic package particularly the all wheel drive system which gives a high level of grip in all conditions. The car is a point and squirter as it virtually leaps from corner to corner and feels like a kart due to direct steering, strong throttle response, stiff chassis and powerful brakes. Some drivers might feel confronted by the VIII's direct steering and firm gear change but it adds to the sporty feel. The interior is fairly bland in a generic Japanese econobox way but is functional and has pretty well everything you need like aircon and a decent sound system. Recaro sports seats offer the necessary amount of side support for extremly fast cornering. Optional leather upholstery is available but there are some other goodies to enhance the handling that actually make the car less fun to drive because it becomes too stiff in the ride department. Mitsubishi is aiming the Evo VIII at Subaru's WRX STi, the Mazda RX8 and the Nissan 300Z. It's a few grand more than the slightly quicker accelerating STi but the Evo's a good looker with a brash body kit and low ride height and room in the back seat. The large carbon fibre deck wing is fairly in-your-face. Living with the Evo VIII on a day to day basis wouldn't be a problem. Keeping your licence would. Only 100 have been imported intially with more on the way. Most of the first shipment have been pre-sold.