Spied - New Mitsubishi Lancer in India (Exclusive)

Thanks to our regular reader Rohin Sureka, we're able to bring you these pictures of the next generation Mitsubishi Lancer testing in Kolkata. Rohin's snapped these pics at night so a few things are unclear.

1) Has Rohin caught the Lancer Evolution?

After a brief search on google images, I understood that many of the Evos don't have badges on three locations at the rear. It is the regular Lancer which has the logo in the centre, Mitsubishi on the bottom left, and Evo on the bottom right. We haven't tracked the car closely or driven them, we could be wrong. We'd like to know from our well-versed readers whether this is the Evo or in fact the Lancer.

2) When is it coming to India?

This test mule was spotted in one of the markets in Kolkata. As we all know, Mitsubishi has a production line in West Bengal Chennai and Rohin's clicked when the Lancer mule was running about clocking data and miles. This doesn't give us an idea of the launch date or whether Mitsubishi is considering it for the Indian market this year. We can assume that Mitsubishi will launch this car by the end of 2011.

3) What if this is the Evo?

Great then! The Mitsubishi Evo according to our sources will be in India in the next few months. Mitsubishi could assemble kits shipped from Japan at the West Bengal plant. Prices would start somewhere around 35 lakhs approximately.

4) Is there a market for Lancer still in India?

Absolutely. The Mitsubishi Lancer is the company's best product not only in India but also overseas. I think the Lancer is why people walk into Mitsubishi dealerships, and in India they were having a great run with the first Lancer. The Cedia hasn't worked as many of us were expecting it to be a mini Evo. It was neither fast nor fuel efficient. With this all-new Lancer, Mitsubishi could get back into the ring and fight the battle which it doesn't seem interested in now.