Overheat
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The Prototype-S is a preview of the five-door Lancer Ralliart.
It looks a little more practical and larger-booted than the Concept Sportback, the first sight of the five-door Lancer's design, and this Geneva show car has the same 240bhp/253lb ft 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and twin-clutch sequential-shift gearbox as the Lancer Ralliart seen at the Detroit Motor Show. Check out its nose, too - this front-end design will be echoed by the upcoming revised Colt supermini.
The mainstream Lancer hatchback will go on sale in the UK in September with the same 1.5-, 1.8-litre and 2.0 diesel engines as the saloon. This Ralliart variant - complete with the Evo IX's four-wheel-drive system, active yaw control and active centre differential, but not quite such an advanced system as the Evo X's - will fit in the range between the mainstream models and the all-out 295lb ft/300lb ft Evo X, and will give Mitsubishi a rival to the 225bhp 2.5-litre Subaru Impreza WRX. The Ralliart will not be offered in saloon form.
Prices for the Lancer Ralliart will start from around ?21,000. There's also talk of an FQ300 version tuned by HKS for 300bhp; this would be a ?4000 upgrade.