In what could be one of the most subtle proposals to come out of the DAMD tuning shop yet, the Japanese aftermarket company presented a rather tasty styling kit for the new Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which as you probably already know, is called ASX in Europe and RVR in Japan.
DAMD's modifications include an aero/styling kit with a front lip spoiler, side sills a central rear apron with add-ons on both corners of the bumper, and a roof spoiler. All parts can be ordered in the same color as the rest of the car or in a matte black finish, which looks pretty cool on the white Outlander Sport pictured here.
The tuning firm also adds a sports exhaust and the option of 19- or 20-inch alloy wheels from Crimson wrapped around 245/35R Bridesgtone tires.
Clearly taking its inspiration from those throwaway iPhone / iPod games loved so much by Volkswagen and its subsidiaries, the North American arm of Mitsubishi Motors will let a select few test drive the new Outlander Sport compact [called ASX in Europe] remotely through "Mitsubishi Live Drive".
In a world first, customers will be able to take the compact crossover around a closed circuit course, controlling the actually vehicle through an "interactive remote control" from the comfort of their own internet-connected PCs. I wonder what a "non-interactive remote control" would be...
When developing the Live Drive experience, Mitsubishi consulted robotics expert, Dr. James Brighton who was instrumental in constructing the online test drive program
The 5-seat CUV was rigged with multiple video cameras, servo motors that move the pedals and steering wheel and electronic receivers that pick up on the driver's control inputs.
Mitsubishi boasts that, "participants will enjoy the feeling of literally being in the driver's seat." You know, without G-force or inertia or any other feeling you might get from actually driving a car.
Those who use the Live Drive program will also have the opportunity to collect "feature pods"; you know, like the coins Mario picks up. Only these ones tell you about the features on the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. Riveting!
Oh well, it sounds more interesting than listening to a dealer drone on and on about this and that at the dealership for hours on end, though I'd still rather take a shot at controlling one of the vehicles in the DARPA Urban Challenge though.
If you are 18 years old, live in the United States and have a valid driver's license you can sign up on the car's microsite from the 15th of October. The Live Drive days will be held between the 1st and 10th of November, coinciding with campaigns in other media including television and print.
A cheeky spectator, known only by the color and shape of his buttocks, is said to be responsible for rally driver Mark Tapper's crash at this past weekend's Rally New Zealand.
As you can for yourselves in the video after the jump, the Auckland rally driver lost control of his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO racer when an unknown individual flashed his crack (33 seconds into the video) ahead of a tight corner causing him to crash and rollover the car.
"A very white bottom that was beside the road put me off for a fraction of a second, then I just ran wide and rolled," Tapper told news reporters.
This year's Tokyo Motor Show that runs for the public from October 24 to November 4, 2009 may be a shadow of its former self as aside from the domestic automakers, Lotus and Alpina are the only foreign brands that will be present at the event, but still, the show will play host to some very significant debuts including the hotly-anticipated Toyota FT-86 rear-wheel drive 2+2 and Honda CR-Z Hybrid near-production coupe concepts.
The video below includes live footage of both coupes as well as from the Mitsubishi PX-MiEV SUV Concept, Mazda Kiyora Concept (Japanese Premiere) and the production Nissan Leaf, that were filmed by the folks over at Japan's Motor Magazine during what appears to be a special pre-show event.
This is one of those stories that has you scratching your head in bafflement and asking yourself 'how the heck did this happen?'. Not that all of your questions will be answered, but according to reports from the German media, the 23-year-old driver of the late 1980's Mitsubishi Colt (also known as the Mirage in certain markets) lost control of the car in the Bavarian town of Stadtprozelten and somehow used a nearby railroad embankment as a jumping platform to literally fly almost 100 feet (about 30m) into the air landing on the rooftop of a building!
According to the German police, the driver that suffered serious injuries from the accident was under the influence of alcohol. And while that may explain how he lost control of the vehicle, we're still puzzled to as how he actually managed to fly onto the rooftop.
In Europe, Mitsubishi has no problem being a tad provocative when it comes to getting the attention of buyers. As the company itself admits, even its vehicle names have turned a few heads, such as the 'FQ' badges to be found on the 'F***ing Quick' Lancer Evolution range. Now, Mitsubishi has readied a new spicy and in our opinion, humorous TV advert for the Lancer, called "Bees and Birds." The ad is due to air in the UK on Monday 9th February.
According to Mitsubishi, Clearcast, the company that is responsible for the pre-transmission examination and clearance of UK TV advertisements, has not approved the ad to be shown on TV before 9 o'clock. It goes without saying that Mitsubishi's intention was to create a bit of a buzz with the advert.
Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi's Director of Sales and Marketing said that, "Clearcast thought that the light-hearted innuendo throughout the ad could be seen as inappropriate – especially for younger viewers. We are happy to have the TV ad shown after the 9 o'clock watershed."
