Future Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

In March 2011, rumours of discontinuation of the Lancer Evolution program started when AutoCar UK's journalist Matt Prior wrote on his interview with Gayu Eusegi, Mitsubishi's Global Product Director, and quoted him saying 'The Lancer Evolution X, Eusegi told me, will be the last Evo. "There is still a demand [for the car]," he said, "but we must stop." Eyebrow up.'This created a lot of discussion on the Internet.

Mitsubishi Motors would later state that "Further to some comments published in the press recently, production of the current Lancer Evolution continues as planned. As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package & architecture. Stay tuned.." Industry analysts would read the statement as indirectly hinting that the Evolution nameplate will remain, but is likely to be an environmentally friendly powertrain (possibly electric or hybrid), inline with increasingly stringent emission and environmental regulations.

AutoCar UK later updated its blog post, adding references to EV, further confirming what industry watchers originally speculated. Most recent news shows that Mitsubishi has been leaning towards the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV hybrid drivetrain, explaining that the electric motors will act as a turbo for the Evolution. Mitsubishi claims that their more "green" version of the Evolution will be just as good or even better in the performance category.

In October 2011, the President of Mitsubishi Motors, Osamu Masuko, confirmed to AutoCar that work on the next Evo will start in 2012 and will go on sale within the following three years. It is said that the car will feature electric power from a hybrid drivetrain, maintaining performance of 0-62 mph time under five seconds while cutting CO2 emissions. 

The next generation of Mitsubishi Evo will be notably smaller than the last version according to company president Osamu Masuko.

In late March 2014, Mitsubishi spokeswoman Namie Koketsu issued a press release stating "Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan. Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology.", marking Mitsubishi's exit from the manufacturer of performance vehicles.
Mitsubishi states that the Lancer Evolution will be retired after 2015.

Motorsports

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is unique among its competitors in the World Rally Championship in that it was a homologated Group A car slightly modified to be able to race competitively against the then newly formed World Rally Car (WRC) regulations from the 1997 season. Mitsubishi continued to adhere to Group A regulations until the San Remo Rally in 2001, World Rally Car class cars. Lancer Evolutions were successful in WRC Rallies from 1996–1999, mostly in the hands of Finnish driver Tommi Mäkinen, clinching driver's titles in four-consecutive seasons from 1996–1999 (in Evolutions III, IV, V, and VI), and with the help of teammate Richard Burns in clinching the constructors' championship for the first, and thus far only time in 1998. The Evolution however was replaced in late 2001 by the firm's first World Rally Car, named simply the Lancer Evolution WRC, which was driven by Makinen, Freddy Loix, Alister McRae and Francois Delecour with relatively limited success, until Mitsubishi took a sabbatical from the championship at the end of 2002. It was succeeded for the 2004 Monte Carlo Rally by the Lancer WRC04. Mitsubishi pulled out of the World Rally Championship after the 2005 season with the Lancer WRC05 still being driven by privateers including Italian former works driver Gigi Galli and the Swede, Daniel Carlsson, in the years following. The Lancer Evolution however still competes in the Group N category.

In some European markets, the Evolution was sold as the Mitsubishi Carisma Evolution, and indeed to this effect the works WRC team's second car in the late 1990s, usually driven by Burns and subsequently Loix, was customarily entered as a Carisma GT. Proton Motors of Malaysia raced Evolution III's, Evolution V's (most notable with Proton 1784 where Malaysian driver Karamjit Singh won the 2002 Production Car WRC) and an Evolution VII as the Proton PERT in various Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and APAC rally series.

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution won the 2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship with a trio of Evolution X models.

The Mitsubishi Evo has recently won and made runner-up in the 2011 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.
Most recently, (2005-2006) the CT9A chassis Evolution has been dominant in Time Attack (time trials) throughout the world. Cyber Evo's CT9A chassis Lancer Evolution previously held the OEM chassis record at Japan's Tsukuba Circuit for Time Attack, as well as the Australian record at Eastern Creek Raceway. Sierra Sierra Enterprise's CT9A chassis Evolution holds the U.S. Time Attack record. The Lancer Evolution VIII was used in Stock Car Brasil from 2005 to 2008, with Cacá Bueno won the series twice from 2006 to 2007.

Awards

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution won ConsumerSearch's best Aggressive sports sedan in Best Sports Sedans in June 2006. During 2004–2005 alone it won six major awards, being declared "Sports Car of the Year" in Scotland and France, "Playboy Sports Car 2004" in Poland, "Best New Production Car Under €60,000" in Greece, "Sport Compact Car of the Year" in 2004 and 2005 (Sport Compact Car magazine) and "2005 All-Star" (Automobile magazine) in the United States and Motor magazine's Best "Bang for Your Bucks" Australia. Also in 2004, the Lancer Evo was presented with the Editors' Choice Award by Grassroots Motorsports.The Lancer Evolution X was named as the "Best Performance Car under $50K" by Canadian TV show Motoring 2009, and won the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada's 2009 "Best New Technology" award. It was also nominated as one of the top 10 "World Performance Car of the Year", won the Automotive Excellence Awards' 2008 "Fun to Drive" category, and took Dave TV's "Sports Car of the Year" award in 2008