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The low profile adds menace
"Flame Red" colour goes faster
Momo gear-shifter adds style
Interior cries out "speed"
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Since Mitsubishi Australia's close-call late last year, in
which the company almost closed its doors, things have been
racing ahead.
Rather than just churning out the same product, running the
same advertisements, using the same market research - Mitsubishi
is forging ahead with a number of exciting projects.
The new 2001 Magna has been selling quite well so far, but
Mitsubishi was not happy with just three or four models and
an upmarket car or two.
It wanted a flagship model.
Like Tickford
and HSV
are to Ford and Holden, Ralliart
is to Mitsubishi. But we haven't seen much of Ralliart's work
in Australia - most of Ralliart's cars are found in Asia.
Occasionally you may see a modified (and imported) GSR-Evolution
Ralliart Lancer cruising around, or perhaps the tiny Mirage
with an accented bodykit. But now the new 3.5-litre Ralliart
Magna is here to play with the big boys - watch out XU6 and
XR6...
Firstly, the engine. Powering the Ralliart Magna is Mitsubishi's
oft-used 3.5-litre V6. It is far from stock. That much you
can be sure of.
In factory form, the V6 block churns out 150kW, whereas the
new Ralliart Magna pushes 180kW. This puts it on par with
the VX model HSV, XU6 (180kW) and above the VCT XR6 Ford (172kW).
The increase in power is due to Ralliart's experience on
the racing circuit. The engine has a new high-lift camshaft,
revised engine management calibrations, new head and a sports
exhaust system, which lets the engine breath more freely.
At the end of the day, this results in an impressive 0-100
km/hour time of less than 7 seconds.
The look is decidedly similar to the Evo VI Lancer, only
on a slightly larger scale. The clothes-dryer spoiler is almost
identical to the Lancer's and the front, side and rear skirts
give the car an amazingly low profile. Add to this the top
of the range (and very new) 17" Oz
Racing alloy wheels and you have one very showy Magna.
The suspension (springs and dampers) has been reworked to
provide less bodyroll and more precise cornering at speed.
Reigning the modified Magna in are some impressive brakes.
Up front is a pair of 15" cross-drilled discs, covered
by 2-pot calipers. At the rear, there are 10" ventilated
discs working their magic. However, it is strange Ralliart/Mitsubishi
didn't go with larger discs (ie. 16/17") considering
the alloys are 17". Maybe next year?
The interior of Ralliart's latest vehicle hasn't been left
out either. Trimmed with red, black and silver, the upholstery
suits the sports-sedan well. A custom dash-board displays
the tacho and speedometer in red, with white markings. An
eight-speaker Clarion stereo will help keep the racing spirit
alive.
Fancy Recaro bucket-seats up front ensure even the most intense
acceleration is dealt with comfortably. A Momo sports wheel
and gear changer finish off the car in style.
A new club racer has entered the Australian ranks and weekend
racers will blown away by its performace and handling characteristics.
As you can see, the new Ralliart Magna is not a pretender
- this is the real deal, so to speak. With the right marketing,
it could be a huge hit in Australia.
The car is estimated to be around $50,000 with the above
specs, but a down-graded version could also be on the cards.
No firm release date as yet.
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