Mitsubishi

Automakers are cutting motorsports spending to weather the economic downturn, leaving privateers and independent teams to take the reigns at the upper echelon of racing. UK-based MML Sports is one such shop that's ready to take on the Production class during the 2009 World Rally Championship (WRC) season.

Mitsubishi's Outlander GT Prototype vehicle isn't slated for a reveal until tomorrow morning, but we caught the raced-up crossover lurking uncovered in the darkness as the Japanese automaker was preparing for a run-through of tomorrow's presentation.

As you can plainly see, the concept vehicle is essentially a lowered Outlander that's been given a bit of Evoplasty up front. The new mouth breather look is significantly more aggressive than the current happy-faced model, but changes beyond that are minimal, including OZ split-spoke wheels and a few badges.

Mitsubishi will be on hand at next week's New York Auto Show with a new version of the Outlander called the GT Prototype. We'll go out on a limb here and guess the Outlander GT Prototype is really a sneak peek at the next version of this capable CUV. As you can sort of tell from the blurry teaser shot provided by Mitsubishi, the GT Prototype replaces the Outlander's rather simple front end with one that looks nearly identical to that of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, thereby visually linking it with the rest of the brand's lineup.

Even though he had a long television acting career, you probably don't remember James Sloyan - but you know his voice - perhaps better than you'd like. Sloyan has been the narrator for every Lexus commercial since the brand's 1989 launch. Imagine the slogan "The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection," and your mind will probably be a-tumble with images from any of those high-production-value commercials broadcast over the last 20 years.

Mitsubishi revealed the latest iteration of its iMiEV Sport this morning in Geneva, the Sport Air. This year's version is marginally longer (20 mm) and taller for what Mitsubishi describes as a "more technical" look to the car's teardrop shape. While the new concept doesn't look dramatically different, some of the contours are a bit sharper, and solar power cells are embedded in the lower portion of the windshield and the removable glass roof.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MEC) wants to be able to offer a 1 DIN Blu-ray DVD player in the 2009 fiscal year. The unit, 1/3 the size of an at-home Blue-ray player, will not only fit in a standard dash slot but will also play BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE discs.