America’s love for sedans is, like a lot of American quirks, not universally embraced beyond our borders. More practical five-door hatchbacks are the rage in Europe and Asia, and as such, Mitsubishi had to build one to be competitive overseas with its Lancer compact sedan. The only question is whether that hatch should come to the U.S.

Well, whether it should or shouldn’t be coming, it is. Sales of the 2010 Lancer Sportback wagon commence around September 1. The 168-hp GTS starts at $19,910 with a five-speed manual and $20,910 with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The 237-hp all-wheel-drive Ralliart with a six-speed dual-clutch automated manual starts at $28,310, just a couple hundred dollars higher than the sedan.

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The fastest and most powerful production version of the Lancer Evolution X to date, the FQ-400, has been officially introduced by Mitsubishi’s British arm. Set to on sale in the UK in June, the new FQ-400 comes with a retuned 2.0-liter turbocharged engine producing 403bhp at 6,500 rpm and 525Nm or 387lb/ft of torque at 3,500 rpm sending the sports sedan from standstill to 62mph (100km/h) in a mere 3.8 seconds before reaching an electronically limited top speed of 155mph or 250km/h.

The power increase from the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged MIVEC engine’s 293bhp was achieved through a series of upgrades that include among other things, high-flow fuel injectors, a new turbocharger featuring low-friction bearings, a high temperature turbine and strengthened thrust, an enhanced intercooler, a new exhaust system and the remapping of the Engine Control Unit (ECU).

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The British always liked to fettle around with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the tenth generation model is no exception. Now they have come up with yet another higher-power version of the Lancer EVO X that goes by the name FQ-330 SST. This F….g Quick (honestly, that’s what it stands for) combines the upgraded FQ-330 engine to the 6-speed Twin-Clutch Sports Shift Transmission. Under the hood, the 2.0-liter turbo engine benefits from a bevy of improvements.

These include an ECU re-map along with the addition of a high performance exhaust and downpipe, an intercooler piping kit, racing suction pipe, and upgraded CAT, all of which help deliver an additional 36 bhp and 22 lb ft over the FQ-300 SST, for a total output of 329bhp at 6,500 rpm and 437Nm (322-lbs/ft) at 3,500 rpm.

The result is a 0 to 100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 4.4 seconds, or 0.3 seconds faster than the FQ-300 SST, and a top speed of 250 km/h or 155mph.

In the UK, the FQ-330 SST is available immediately for order. Buyers can choose among four different colors – Cool Silver (M), Orient Red (M), Lightning Blue (P) and Phantom Black (P), all of which are included in the basic price of £35,999, which is £3,000 more than the standard FQ-300 STT variant.

Standard equipment:

* Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC)
* 18″ Enkei alloy wheels
* Brembo braking system, including 2-piece front brakes
* Eibach coil springs
* Bilstein shock absorbers
* HID xenon headlamps with Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS)
* Recaro front seats
* Bluetooth hands-free system
* Leather sports steering wheel with audio controls
* Front, side, curtain and knee airbags
* Privacy glass
* Front fog lamps
* ISO Fix
* Automatic headlamp and wiper sensors
* Remote central locking
* CAT1 approved alarm/immobiliser
* CAT5 approved tracker system + 1 year free subscription
* HDD satellite navigation system
* Rockford premium audio & Music Server – 6 premium speakers + subwoofer
* iPod/MP3 auxiliary input port

Mitsubishi told us way back in June that it would debut the five-door Lancer Sportback and Sportback Ralliart at the Paris Motor Show in October. They were close, as images of the two models have surfaced on the web today just a week before the big show in Paris. The new Sportback model adds all the versatility of Subaru’s similarly shaped 5-door Impreza models, which should be a big hit in Europe where they’ll go on sale first.

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You’re looking at the replacement for Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart’s venerable rally version of the Pajero sport ute. The Japanese automaker’s rally team has just revealed its newest cross-country rally vehicle based on the Lancer, dubbed simply the “Racing Lancer”. The Racing Lancer will makes it debut at the 2008 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup in Portugal at the end of October. There it will show off its new turbo diesel engine, specifics of which have been withheld though the new mill has logged over 8,000 km during testing and limited competition. Mitsubishi’s new motor marks yet another instance of diesel power gaining prominence in motorsport just like Audi did in the American Le Mans Series with its oil-burning R8 and R10. And just like Audi, Mitsubishi’s decision to use a turbodiesel in the Racing Lancer is part of a larger plan that has but one objective: win the 2009 Dakar rally.

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