When was the last time you got all giggly and excited about a new Mitsubishi, production or concept? Exactly… Now, thanks to Sony Playstation and their Gran Turismo 6 Vision initiative that calls for automakers and other companies to create virtual or if they choose, real life concepts for the game, Mitsubishi’s designers were given the opportunity to get creative without too many restrictions.

However, while some carmakers opted for a clean sheet design, Mitsubishi took last year’s Concept XR-PHEV, a sporty compact SUV, and gave it a thorough rally-inspired makeover.

“The ‘Athlete Form’ design concept was advanced further, emphasizing the driving features aggressively,” said Mitsubishi in a statement.

In the virtual world, the hunched down crossover-coupe-like XR-PHEV Evolution was designed to run on a Plug-in Hybrid EV System connected to an 8-speed dual clutch transmission (DCT) driving all four (20-inch) wheels.

“It’s overwhelming drive performance is controlled precisely with the S-AWC vehicle dynamics control system that distributes the drive force optimally to the 4 wheels, producing a handling characteristic that moves the car exactly as the driver desires,” reads Mitsubishi’s release.

By John Halas

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