The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, the brand's last enthusiast-aimed car offered in the States, was axed back in 2016 but will be resurrected in the future as an all-new model, Autocar reports.

The Lancer Evo became nothing short of a rally legend after its launch in 1992 (while also securing the status of neighborhood street-racing terror), offering a brash exterior and a light, lively chassis. Mitsubishi's sportiest offering by far, the Lancer Evo was one of the last, focused, no-frills performance sedans of its generation alongside the Subaru WRX.

Autocar indicates that the next-gen model will be the fruit of Mitsubishi's partnership with Renault (via Nissan, which owns a controlling stake in Mitsubishi), and will share the CMF-C/D F4 platform and parts of its drivetrain with the next-gen Renault Megane RS, expected to use a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. Autocar suggests that the Lancer Evo could benefit from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance's development of a mild-hybrid system that would dial up the Renault Megane RS model's output of 296 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque even higher, likely to the level produced by the current Subaru Impreza WRX STi S209, which packs 341 hp and 319 lb-ft of torque. The next Lancer Evo, tipped to be offered as a five-door hatchback and a four-door sedan, is once again expected to have a very manual gearbox, and to use Mitsubishi's own S-AWC four-wheel-drive system.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance itself, by the way, is still going through a few issues at the moment following the ouster of Renault Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn. Just in the last few days Mitsubishi's role in that alliance as the smallest partner has come under strain as it concerns its relationship with two much larger automakers, while navigating its "small but beautiful" strategy for the next decade that has already needed some adjustment given the automaker's somewhat limited North American footprint.

Getting the Evo back, while delighting its fan base, is not expected to work miracles for Mitsubishi in North America -- the small and inexpensive performance sedan segment is seemingly less relevant than it has been at any time in the past 30 years -- so Mitsubishi's focus on crossovers of all sizes as well as electrification may ultimately pay off more at dealerships.

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