Just drop that name, please?
Ahead of the Geneva motor show, Japanese marque Mitsubishi is teasing something they’re calling the ‘Engelberg Tourer Concept’ which, as far as we can work out, is some kind of zero-emissions SUV. The name comes from a “prestigious” winter-sports resort in the middle of Switzerland, which to us merely reinforces the assumption that it’s an SUV, before even taking into account the fact that SUVs are all that Mitsubishi makes these days anyway.
This new car, Mitsubishi says, demonstrates its intent “to remain at the forefront of vehicle design & technology.” This is clear by the blacked-out grille and ‘illuminated’ Dynamic Shield Face, uh… face, that most certainly shows the company is not about to back away from bold, in-your-face designs. Further, Mitsubishi talks about how the concept will “focus on next-generation technology and enhanced EV performance.”
We can’t help but note that the Mitsubishi Outlander, the 3-row 7-seater SUV that’s also available as a plug-in hybrid, was launched back in 2012, suggesting a replacement is long overdue. It’d be easy to relegate the Engelberg to the long line of all-electric concept cars from the Mitsubishi brand, but we reckon this one holds a little water, and could perhaps preview what the next-generation Outlander might look like (or in fact offer, powertrain-wise).
If our knowledge of Mitsubishi is correct, and the Engelberg does indeed preview the upcoming-generation Outlander, we should expect to see the full production version sometime early next year. Bearing in mind that the Outlander PHEV is also one of the best-selling PHEVs in Europe at present, we should expect to see an electrified variant of the Outlander at launch.
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