Shanghai Clone Wars: Landwind X8 vs Mitsubishi Outlander

There are clones and there are clones. While some come pretty close such as Lifan Motors' effort to give birth to a five-door MINI Cooper, other like Jiangling Motors's Landwind X8 that made its debut at the Shanghai Show this week, is a dead ringer for Mitsubishi's Outlander. For those of you with a weak memory, China's Landwind became known for being the first Chinese automaker to enter the European market with the SUV that spectacularly failed a crash test carried out by the ADAC, Germany's largest auto club.

And it's not only the exterior design of the Outlander that has been copied, it's also the interior as the X8 gets the same exact dashboard styling with the deep set instrument panel featuring the two circular tube-like structures.

But you still haven't heard the best part of the story; according to the Landwind, the X8 will be offered with two engines: a common-rail turbo diesel from Italy's VM Motori that develops 140HP and 350Nm of torque and -get this- a Mitshubishi sourced, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine with 150HP!

Sales of the Landwind X8 are to start in China during the second half of the year.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Mitsubishi Outlander SUV

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Landwind X8 SUV

Mitsubishi Outlander GT Shows its EVO-Inspired Fascia in New York

Pride and joy of Mitsubishi's stand at the New York Auto Show is the new Outlander GT Prototype which essentially provides us with the first look of the stylistic updates that the Japanese firm is readying for its compact crossover. And by this we basically mean the Lancer EVO cloned inspired front end design that gives the Outlander a much more aggressive appearance than the current model.

Aside from the EVO's signature 'Jet Fighter' grille and the reshaped Bi-Xenon headlamps, the Outlander Prototype also sports several other new design elements, such as a reshaped front bumper, side mirrors, fenders and hood, a new rear bumper and side sills, plus a new polished finish on the aluminum roof panel.

Complementing the exterior changes, the GT's cabin has been refreshed with the addition of grained synthetic leather with contrasting double stitching, new chrome accents plus a few EVO-inspired design cues like the aluminum sport pedals and the new three-spoke steering wheel.

The New York Show Outlander GT prototype also features a series of upgrades under the hood with the 3.0-liter V6 engine benefiting from improvements that include a reduction in intake restriction plus optimized camshaft timing and compression ratio. The changes result to a 10 horsepower bump for a total of 230HP while Mitsubishi claims that the V6's torque curve has also been improved. The prototype model features an upgraded shifting program and Idle Neutral Logic for the automatic transmission.

However, the most significant change concerns the adoption of the Lancer EVO X's 'Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) system that uses an active front limited-slip differential and an electronically contorlled 4WD coupling for improved handling, traction and stability. Furthermore, Mitshubishi has upgraded the Outlander with shorter and stiffer suspension, larger Brembo brakes and a set of 19-inch O.Z. racing wheels.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Mitsubishi announces Outlander GT Prototype for New York Show

One blurry image and two teaser shots of the crossover's front end along with some initial details is all that Mitsubishi is willing to reveal on the Outlander GT Prototype that will make its world debut at the New York Auto Show on April 9, 2009. From the look of it, the compact CUV could be a sportier Outlander with a face transplant from the Lancer EVO that includes the so called "Jet Fighter" grille.

Mitsubishi said that the GT Prototype showcases a host of new technologies like the Idle Neutral Logic that automatically shifts the transmission into neutral during vehicle standstill, improved performance and fuel economy from its more powerful 3.0-liter SOHC MIVEC V6 engine, and a Super-All-Wheel-Control System.

For more details we'll have wait until next week's official unveiling.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com