Getting Back to Its AWD Performance Roots
There was a time that Mitsubishi's Eclipse, along with its Eagle Talon/Plymouth Laser Diamondstar relatives, was considered to be one of the best performing entry-level sports GTs on the planet, especially in all-wheel drive guise. The fact that a strong contingent of first- and second-generation cars is still popular among rally racers and import tuners alike is testament to the car's capabilities.
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| Mitsubishi's Eclipse was once considered one of the best performing entry-level sports GTs on the planet, and looks like it could be leaning that way again. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America) |
The current Eclipse is stunning to look at and fun to drive, but doesn't offer as much pure driving passion for those with a need for speed, focusing more on comfort and luxury. Will Mitsubishi continue this trend from performance car to sport luxury or will it get back to its enthusiast roots? That is the question on a lot of people's minds now that a completely revised Eclipse on the horizon.
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| The Eclipse Concept's familiar C-pillars hint at its performance-orientation more than anything else. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America) |
If the Japanese brand's latest Eclipse Concept, the car being touted as the Concept E over the last month or so, is to be taken seriously, it looks as if the former will be more likely. Just from appearances alone, its taut sheetmetal looking as if stretched over a rally-spec carcass, performance seems to be the order of the day. Its overhangs are extremely short, with wheels pulled out to the concept's corners as far as feasibly possible.
But it's the prototype's familiar C-pillars that hint at its performance-orientation more than anything else. From rear view it's easy to see their resemblance to the second-generation Eclipse, a theme that in context at least continues throughout the design. The E's profile is wedge-like, more cab-forward than the current model with a liftgate at the rear.