Mitsubishi Reveals the Revival of Mitsubishi Colt with a Hybrid Option

Whoo boy, now this is somewhat unexpected. We knew Mitsubishi Motors was about to jump ship and leave the European market altogether after some trouble in sales, but its Alliance partner Renault wasn’t having any of it. The French multinational automobile manufacturer went so far as to offer Mitsubishi a Renault Clio with a rebadge. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is going to be pretty busy with its Alliance 2030 business strategy, and still waiting on Mitsubishi Motors to release a new segment vehicle to lead the pack. After the announcement of “Challenge 2025”, we now know Mitsubishi has a lot of vehicles planned for release, starting with a new hybrid model on an old nameplate – the Mitsubishi Colt hybrid.

Woah, step back! The Mitsubishi Colt? One of the greatest sports cars to come from the Japanese automaker, amongst the likes of the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mitsubishi Starion 4WD, and the Lancer Evolution, it getting a rebirth? Having ended in 2002, the Colt had a good run, even going so far as to launch the Colt MIEV electric car in 2006. We’ve seen how fans are likely to react to the revival of a sports car nameplate as anything else than a sports car. The reception of the Eclipse Cross was shaky, and even though its sales in 2022 were high, the recent first quarter sales are barely half of what the automaker sold last year. Bringing another s[orts car back as a hybrid could be tricky.

We knew about this choice back in 2022 when we were reviewing Mitsubishi sports cars of the past, with little information about the rebadged Clio at the time. Aside from being built on CMF-B platform, one of the five platforms all Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance hybrid and electric vehicles will be built on going forward, the specs were still yet to be seen. Now, after Mitsubishi’s announcement of 16 new production models by 2025, information about the new Colt is coming to light. From what we can tell, there is some highlight – the Colt isn’t being brought back as strictly a hybrid model, but does offer a hybrid option. Like the Eclipse Cross, based on Challenge 2025, the Colt is going to be brought back as an SUV or a crossover.

The Colt was once a sports car. We wonder how it will fare as an SUV. The official power specs have yet to be released, with more information set with the official debut on June 8, 2023.

There are some good guesses with at least two powertrain options. Bets are on a turbocharged 1.0-liter gasoline engine, able to generate 90 horsepower, plus a hybrid option, a combination of a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor able to generate 143 horsepower. Being the exact same options as the Renault Clio the Colt is a rebadge of, it makes sense the vehicle won’t be tweaked enough to offer more power. Mitsubishi has promised a fully digital cockpit and numerous comfort and safety features for the new Colt, so that’s something.

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Photo Source/Copyright: Mitsubishi Motors