Mitsubishi Lancer EVO-X discontinued in India

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution-X, also known as the EVO-X, is a legend in the car world. A car that earned its spurs in the rough and tumble of the World Rallying Championship, the Lancer in EVO guise was a road going car that imbibed many technologies that were honed at rally tracks across the globe. These high performance credentials, along with an affordable price tag (in comparison with the prices that other high performance cars from European brands commanded), the EVO-X won many an enthusiast's heart across the globe. 

India's tryst with the Lancer Evolution came in the winter of 2010, with the car in its 10th iteration. Priced at about 60 lakhs on the road, in most Indian cities, the CBU import EVO-X remained a niche car within a niche. Even as Mitsubishi  is planning to eventually stop producing the EVO-X globally (the car is half a decade old in its latest iteration) and is said to be considering a diesel hybrid for the EVO-XI (if it sees the light of the day in 2015), the Hindustan Motors-Mitsubishi combine has discontinued the EVO-X in the Indian car market.

This update, listed on Mitsubishi's Indian website, was spotted by Team-Bhpian with the handle, SarthakGupta. 

Click here to read the official Team-BHP review of the Mitsubishi EVO-X. 

A Jekyll-and-Hyde car that was at home both on tarmac and off it, the EVO-X simply couldn't muster enough numbers in India, saddled as it was with a high price tag that put it out of reach of most prospective buyers. So, this is pretty much the end of the road for the EVO-X as far as the Indian car market is concerned even though the car is still being sold internationally. The EVO-X sold in India was the FQ300 variant. The FQ300 version of the EVO-X features a 2 liter-turbo petrol engine that pumps out 292 Bhp-366 Nm.

The power and torque churned out by this engine is transmitted to all four wheels through a 6 speed-dual clutch automatic transmission. The car also comes with enough electronic and mechanical aids that would make a spaceship proud, stuff capable of making an average Joe feel like a certain Mr Tommi Makinen. Notably, the EVO-X is the latest and the last sedan that has been discontinued by HM-Mitsubishi in India (the Lancer and Cedia have already been discontinued).

The HM-Mitsubishi car making combine will focus on its  SUV range comprising of three products, the Outlander, the Pajero Sport and the Montero. The Pajero Sport does reasonable numbers, considering the small dealer footprint of the Japanese brand in India. While Mitsubishi has interesting big volume products such as the Mirage hatchback and the Attrage sedan, both cars aimed at international markets, the Japanese automaker has ruled out these products for the Indian car market.