Mitsubishi's new boss dreams of bringing back the Lancer Evo (but it's only a dream, for now)
A rally legend the boss clearly misses, even if the accountants do not
Here is a headline to set enthusiast hearts racing, followed swiftly by a splash of cold water. Mitsubishi's new president has openly said he would love to bring back the legendary Lancer Evo. The catch? It is pure wishful thinking at this stage, with no plans, no timeline and no budget behind it. Still, it is lovely to hear a boss talk this way.
What the president actually said
Keisuke Kishiura, who took over as Mitsubishi's president in April 2026, called the Evo, Galant and Diamante treasures from the brand's past, and said he would like Mitsubishi to become a company that can produce such a wonderful car again in the future. It is heartfelt stuff from a genuine driving enthusiast: Kishiura recalls driving an old manual Lancer Turbo early in his career and says he still loves being behind the wheel. He even dreams of Mitsubishi returning to the World Rally Championship, the arena where the Evo made its name.
Why it is only a dream
Sadly, enthusiasm does not build cars. Kishiura gave no timeline, no powertrain and no specifications, and there are no development resources allocated to an Evo revival. Mitsubishi's real-world priorities lie elsewhere: SUVs, off-roaders, models for the ASEAN region and electrified cars. On top of that, the company leans heavily on cost-sharing partnerships with Nissan, Renault and others, which makes signing off a bespoke, high-performance sports sedan economically very hard to justify.
So could it ever happen?
Never say never. Those same alliance partnerships that make a bespoke Evo tricky could, in theory, also provide a shortcut, a shared platform or electrified hardware on which a modern Evo might one day be based. Plenty of once-dead performance nameplates have returned in new forms, so a hybrid or electric Evo built on shared underpinnings is not impossible. For now, though, this is a boss expressing a wish, not a company announcing a car.
AutoNext Take
We would love a new Lancer Evo as much as anyone, and it is genuinely refreshing to hear a car-company president speak with this much passion rather than pure spreadsheet talk. But we have to be honest: warm words about treasured old models are a world away from a signed-off business case, and history is littered with revival dreams that never left the boardroom. If Mitsubishi could use its Nissan and Renault ties to build an affordable, electrified Evo with real rally spirit, it would be brilliant. Until there is budget and a timeline, though, keep the champagne on ice.
The affordable performance flame still flickers: Hyundai just launched a new i20 N hybrid hot hatch, Alpine is keeping rally spirit alive with the Lacoste A290 Rallye, and alliance partner Nissan is reviving its own icon, the Skyline.
