it's not like they'd downgrade the car..of course better things will come out later, that's generally how it is and mostly marketing..

 

**** when I first saw MR i thought it was "mid-engine, RWD"..

silly me...

 

Too much Gran Tourismo does that to you Who's that hot chick anyways??

 

I like the bit in the press release that talks about the new "Lancer" WR car that will be ready for the 04 season and driven by Giles Panizzi

 

It's my guess that this car is the result of the Mitsubishi WRC teams testing efforts on their year hiatus from WRC. I'd be willing to bet that these improvements will be incorporated into a car that will be released in Japan only in very limited numbers to homolgate a car for the 2004 WRC racing season.

SC~

 

yea were not cool enough over here in the us to get that car but there is some rumors i have been hearing that there will be a better evo model avaliable for 2004 but i have only heard it from a few freinds at the dealer and nobody on the forums seem to know much and we always seem to know more about the evo then the dealers do

 

it is an EVOULTION... it should get better and better....hence the name.... but yea the S2000 is now a 2.2L with more tourque, but a slower steering ratio...

-Shahul

 

Japan still gets the 2.0L S2000...

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=159772

Also I believe this Evo MR will unofficially be named the Evo 8.5

 

Nice find Rax!!
The MR could be considered like the EVO 6 Tommi Edition, which was aka EVO 6.5.

By the way, is only doing poorly here in the U.S.. European sales are up, ASEAN and China sales are up, and Japan sales are up.

 

Actually, homologation is not required for the WRC class. It is required for Group A, but not WRC. However, the Evo that competed against the WRC cars, up to the Evo 6.5, were Group A cars, which do have a homologation requirement. Which makes the fact that Mitsubishi was able to win against WRC-class cars in the late 1990's all the more interesting. The WRC class was invented because manufacturers were no longer willing to foot the bill for homologation, and therefore we have companies like Skoda, Ford, Peugeot, and Citroen competing, even though they have no 2.0L AWD turbo cars in their lineups. Eventually the WRC cars got the upper hand and from the VII on, the cars are WRC class cars with no homologation requirement.

 

Although I fear that these WRC cars will go the same way the Group B cars went in the Mid 80's...because ultimately they will be deemed too fast thus too dangerous...just my opinion

 

Doubtful, the FIA mandated 300 hp limit seems to be working well for them from a safety standpoint, there hasn't been a serious injury in WRC for years, if anything it's the cost that is going to be the death knell for the series, with two more races in the 2004 schedule. A modern WRC car has half the horsepower of group B in its heyday, and roll cages and fuel cells have taken huge strides. A fiery crash like the lancia accident that was the nail in the coffin for group b is far less likely to happen today..

 

Point taken... although you can't despute that the lack of serious injury has been more luck than judgement.... was it Tony Gardermiester hanging off a mountain side last year in Corsica in a Skoda Octavia...and although not a proper WRC car.... the recent demise of Mark Lovell and Co-driver still means there is a very high degree of danger in the sport..
Surly the WRC cars are getting quicker year to year...The HP may be mandated to 300 (which sometimes I wonder about) but the torque and traction of these cars get higher and better each season...take the new focus for instance

 

A couple more pics:

 

Im so excited!! Woot Woot
My time will come soon