TOKYO MOTOR SHOW: Mitsubishi Mi-Tech plug-in beach buggy concept
Topless compact SUV powered by gas-turbine engine-generator and previews next ASXMitsubishi has used today’s Tokyo motor show opening to preview the replacement for Australia’s most popular small SUV, the Mitsubishi ASX, which almost a decade after its 2010 release has just been facelifted and repowered for 2020.
No, the next-generation Mitsubishi ASX won’t be a roofless plug-in hybrid beach buggy powered by a gas-turbine generator to replace its engine, but it could look a lot like this when it finally appears in 2021.
Before then in 2020, Mitsubishi will release a redesigned Outlander, which has already been previewed by the Engleberg Tourer concept.
Unlike the bigger show car, the new Mitsubishi Mi-Tech concept doesn’t directly preview a future model, but provides a strong hint at the frontal design of the next ASX, which will be exclusively front-wheel drive as it effectively replaces the Lancer.
The 2021 ASX will also be smaller than the current model, while the 2020 Outlander will grow, providing the Eclipse Cross with more room both below and above – in terms of both size and price.
Nevertheless the Mi-Tech concept also brings an interesting powertrain concept: a downsized new plug-in hybrid range-extender that replaces a conventional petrol or diesel engine with a gas-turbine engine/generator.
Mitsubishi says the compact and lightweight delivers plenty of power for its size and weight and is able to run on a variety of fuels including alcohol, kerosene and diesel, making it suitable for a range of different regions.
A development of the powertrain seen in the 2017 e-Evolution concept, which employed three motors, Mi-Tech’s generator powers four electric motors – two on each axle -- in what Mitsubishi calls its Quad Motor 4WD System.
In tandem with Mitsubishi’s Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) system, the four-motor system is claimed to improve on-road handling and off-road control, the latter by maintain drive even with two wheels off the ground, the ability turn 180 degrees by counter-rotating the left and right-hand side tyres and the adoption of electric brake callipers.
No performance, range or output figures for the new plug-in hybrid drivetrain in the Mi-Tech, but it appears to be intended as a high-performance powertrain.
However, while a gas-turbine range-extender powertrain is likely years away from any commercial application (as Jaguar discovered with its slinky C-X75 concept), Mitsubishi’s global COO Ashwani Gupta has confirmed that both the company’s small and mid-size SUVs will be electrified by 2022.
That means that both the ASX and Eclipse Cross will join the Outlander in offering some type of plug-in hybrid powertrain within three years.
The next Outlander PHEV powertrain has already been previewed by the Engleberg Tourer concept, which was fitted with a larger 20kWh battery delivering for a longer 70km driving range.
For the record, the off-road buggy-style Mitsubishi Mi-Tech concept wears a bolder interpretation of the Japanese car-maker’s ‘Dynamic Shield’ grille design and chunky off-road tyres, flared wheel-arches, aluminium skid plates and four turbine-like rear-end additions that hint at its futuristic powertrain.
Inside its utilitarian cabin are beefy grab handles, basic switchgear, a small screen behind the steering wheel instead of a large central touch-screen and an augmented reality windscreen displays real-time driver-assist functions for both on and off-road driving.
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