Mitsubishi will be bringing a new plug-in hybrid crossover concept to the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, which the automaker says hints at its future direction, both in terms of styling and technology. Apart from a pair of teaser images, the only information we have is that the concept will come with two-wheel drive, a plug-in hybrid setup and a crossover body.

Looking at the teasers, it’s clear the new concept is an evolution of the XR-PHEV concept that we first saw at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Like the XR-PHEV, the new concept for Geneva is likely a preview of the next-generation Outlander Sport.

Why the interest in a concept that likely previews a new Outlander Sport? Because Mitsubishi has also shown us a version of the previous XR-PHEV with the Evolution name tagged on, and this performance-oriented crossover concept, complete with S-AWC all-wheel drive, an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and plug-in hybrid power, may just be a preview of the car that will eventually succeed the Lancer Evolution which bows out of the market this year.

AT GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

We should have more details soon as the Geneva Motor Show will be getting underway on March 3. To see what else will be at the Swiss show, head to our dedicated hub.

In related news, Mitsubishi is expected to use February’s Chicago Auto Show to debut a new model, tipped to be a new generation of the Montero. Our sister site The Car Connection has more details.

Lexus is working on a new generation of its RX, which we will see for the first time at April’s 2015 New York Auto Show. Lexus was thought to be planning a debut for the popular crossover at this week’s 2015 Detroit Auto Show but the reveal has been pushed back to the New York event, Edmunds has confirmed. This means we’ll likely see the vehicle in showrooms around fall, as a 2016 model.

The version on show in the Big Apple should be the entry-level RX 350. Further down the track we should see another generation of the RX 450h hybrid and perhaps an additional, performance-oriented model too.

The new RX will share its underpinnings with the latest Toyota Highlander and may offer a seven-seat option for the first time. We know the vehicle will be growing in size compared to the current model, and it will be lighter, too, thanks to the use of aluminum in some of its construction.

Production will continue to take place at the Toyota plant in Cambridge, Ontario, where the RX line has been built since 2003.

The RX is Lexus’ most popular model, accounting for almost half of the brand’s sales here in the U.S., so the success of the new model is crucial for the Japanese marque. It will be facing some tough competition, however, as many of its rivals are either being updated or redesigned for the 2016 model year. These include the likes of the Audi Q7, Cadillac SRX, Lincoln MKX, Mercedes-Benz GLE (M-Class facelift) and Volvo XC90.

The 2015 New York Auto Show gets underway April 1. Additional coverage of the event can be accessed via our dedicated hub.

We miss few recently defunct cars like we miss the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Born of rally and bred for the street, the car evolved to become a high-tech, if somewhat heavy, piece of asphalt artillery. Now it’s dead. But it might come back, in tortured and demented form, as a hybrid SUV.

No, that’s not a joke. Apparently.

 

According to a report from Autocar, the idea of a high-performance hybrid SUV as a follow-up to the Evo seems to make sense to the heads inside Mitsubishi. The news comes from the floor of the Paris auto show, where Mitsubishi product chief Kanenori Okamoto delivered the blow.

Those paying attention to Mitsubishi’s future plans may not be surprised. The Concept XR-PHEV Evolution Vision Gran Turismo (pictured above) designed for the Gran Turismo video game series as part of the Vision GT project indicates exactly the sort of high-performance hybrid Mitsubishi is talking about—if filtered through a rather dramatic video game lens. A more ordinary version of the hybrid crossover came in the form of the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show's Concept XR-PHEV (pictured below).

The Concept XR-PHEV Evolution Vision Gran Turismo claims a carbon fiber body, 20-inch alloy wheels, S-AWC all-wheel drive, an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, and a plug-in hybrid EV drive system on top of the (undisclosed) combustion power plant.

When might we expect to see production fruit of this odd and potentially poisoned tree? Not likely before 2017, and potentially even later.

Hyundai has unveiled an updated version of its Veloster coupe in its home market of Korea. Spotted in prototype form for almost a year, the updated Veloster should make its debut at a major international auto show in the coming months before arriving in showrooms in the second half of the year, as a 2016 model.

The variant we’re most interested in is the Veloster Turbo. Hyundai has confirmed that the vehicle has been fitted with the automaker’s new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This replaces the six-speed unit offered on the existing Veloster Turbo. The standard transmission remains a six-speed manual.

Unfortunately, no extra power has been added, meaning the car’s turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine will still rate in at 201 horsepower. One odd feature added for the engine is an electronic sound generator that has six levels of customization. There's also a feature to adjust vehicle dynamics, with the driver able to select between Dynamic, Sporty and Extreme modes.

The visual tweaks made to the car are hard to spot. They include some new detailing in the headlights, silver trim on the front grille and new wheel patterns. A few tweaks have been made inside the car; for example, the steering wheel now features perforated leather trim.

Williams is the first to reveal its new car for the 2015 Formula One World Championship. The British team, which reigning world champion Mercedes AMG sees as its biggest threat going into the new season, is sticking with a Mercedes power unit and has gone with an evolutionary design for its latest car, the FW37. Williams also remains linked with title sponsor Martini.

The most obvious change in the regulations for the new season involves the design of the nose cone. The nose now needs to taper more linearly from the low point to the front of the chassis, which should lead to much shorter noses on most of the cars. Of course, the changes in aero mean other aspects of the design will be affected.

“The change in regulations offered us a slight headache,” Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds explains. “The new front bulkhead and nose geometry had much more of an impact than we had initially anticipated and the effect on the aero was profound.”

The chassis of the FW37 retains a carbon fiber monocoque structure while the suspension still consists of double wishbones at both ends, with push-rod activated springs and anti-roll bars. The wheels are forged magnesium pieces from RAYS and the brakes are from AP Racing.

The power unit is sourced from Mercedes and is much the same as last year. This means a turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 working in conjunction with two motor generators, one mounted to the main driveline and another integrated with the turbocharger.

The performance of the FW36 in 2014 saw Williams move forward from ninth in the Constructors’ Championship to third, obtaining nine podiums throughout the season though sadly not a single win. After that strong performance, the team aims to continue improving in pursuit of podium finishes and the elusive win throughout the 2015 season. The drivers remain Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

“The team had a fantastic season last year, we are aiming to replicate this development over the winter and to start the 2015 season in a strong position,” team principal Frank Williams said in a statement. “We have an enormously talented group of people here at Williams who want nothing more than the team to do well.”

Pre-season testing will get underway in Jerez, Spain on February 1. Most of the other teams competing this season should reveal their cars before then. The first race of the new season is the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, which will run in Melbourne from March 12-15.

One Porsche Drive isn’t just a great idea, it’s the location of the brand’s new U.S. headquarters just outside Atlanta. In addition to a new facility and test track, the new HQ is also home to an all-new car: the 911 GTS Club Coupe.

Revealed today, the GTS Club Coupe is limited to 60 examples, and is based on the 911 Carrera GTS. Wearing a unique “Club Blau” blue color, created exclusively for this car for the Porsche Club of America, the 911 Club Coupe gets all of the GTS’s improvements, including a wider track and body, and visual upgrades inside and out.

ALSO SEE: Porsche R&D Chief Confirms Hybrid Tech For Next 911

Unique “GTS Club Coupe 60 Years Porsche Club of America” lettering above the glove compartment marks these special editions out from the crowd. For those seeking even more club-themed appointments, an optional Extended Club Coupe Package offers a vehicle key painted in the same Club Blau hue, a leather key pouch and leather-trimmed floor mats, both with Carmine Red and blue contrast stitching, plus a personalized blue car cover.

The 911 Club Coupe’s mechanical bits are all straight from the GTS, which, of course, is a very good thing: the 430-horsepower flat six, the PASM dampers, the Porsche Torque Vectoring electronics, and the Sport Chrono Package with dynamic engine mounts and more—they’re all included.

The 911 Club Coupe will hit the U.S. in June of this year, with 59 of the 60 cars available for purchase. That last car? It will be given away to one lucky Porsche Club of America winner, with full details of the giveaway to be announced February 1 at the official PCA website. The test track and facility will open in early May.

Price with delivery for the new 911 Club Coupe is $137,055.

With a turbo four-cylinder Ford Mustang now a real thing, we’re moved to reexamine the genre of the entry-level muscle car, long associated with secretarial pools and rental-car lots. Under discussion today: the V-6–powered Dodge Challenger SXT, sporting a new eight-speed transmission and a redesigned interior. Is it still more show than go?

It’s certainly still got “show.” For 2015, Dodge adds 1971 cues to the basic 1970 styling theme, including its split-port grille inserts and quad taillamp treatment. Other updates include headlamps with stern-looking LED halo rings and smoother front and rear fascias.
 If the Challenger’s body changes only a little, an utter transformation occurs inside. Stylists placed a 1971 Challenger dashboard in the studio during the design process, and its influence can be found in the sweet, conical gauges with hidden needles and classic fonts. But, overall, this is a modern space, with strong forms, soft-touch panels, and real aluminum trim.

The 3.6-liter V-6 is unchanged, but the new ZF eight-speed automatic is a massive improvement, exploiting all of the engine’s 305 horsepower and 268 pound-feet of torque while helping to raise fuel economy from 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway to 19/30. Zero-to-60 acceleration drops a bit from 6.4 seconds to a respectable, if not-quite-muscle-car-worthy 6.2. The weighty Challenger trails its V-6–powered competitors by about a second.
 So the eight-speed auto doesn’t bring much in the way of performance improvements, but it is a nice piece with smooth, decisive shifts and predictive downshifting in sport mode. Steering-wheel paddles come with the Super Track Pak option ($695), which also brings 20-inch wheels, a more buttoned-down suspension, revised steering, dual-piston front brake calipers around larger 13.6-inch front rotors, and Dodge Performance apps.

Hustling around Portland International Raceway, the SXT with the Super Track Pak could easily hang with the 485-hp Challenger SRT 392 in the kinkier sections thanks to communicative steering, Goodyear summer tires, strong brakes, and roughly 300 less pounds, most of them coming off the front axle. With the power­train settings in sport, the eight-speed always found the power band’s sweet spot, allowing us to simply leave it in drive and still post impressive lap times.
 On the road, the V-6 proves competent and unobtrusive, though the handling never lets you forget that the Challenger is essentially a Charger sedan with a few less inches in the middle. Dive into a tight corner and the car lists at turn-in, finds its legs, then stabilizes with some throttle. The grip is there, but it drives big. Classic muscle-car stuff.

And yet, the Challenger SXT needs to be a bit quicker—and sound meaner—for us to consider it a true muscle car. That would help justify our loaded SXT Plus test car’s $37,255 price tag. But, especially with the Super Track Pak option, the V-6 Challenger is getting closer.