Geneva show: Mitsubishi resurrects Eclipse badge

MITSUBISHI has gone back to the future by naming its all-new compact-size SUV the Eclipse Cross, referencing a US-market sports coupe from the late-1980s.

Set to be revealed at the Geneva show after a long teaser campaign, the Eclipse Cross will be a new model for Mitsubishi and is likely to slot into the line-up above the ASX crossover and just below the Outlander.

Mitsubishi is saving dimensions and other details for the SUV’s Swiss reveal next month, but it will form part of the Japanese car-maker’s SUV line-up reshuffle.

As reported last year, Mitsubishi Motors of North America executive vice-president Don Swearingen told GoAuto at the New York motor show that the next-generation Outlander mid-sizer will grow to be a competitor for the likes of the Toyota Kluger and Mazda CX-9.

The next-gen ASX – likely previewed by the eX concept from the 2015 Tokyo motor show – will shrink to compete directly with the sub-compact set that includes the top-selling Mazda CX-3.

This will leave space for the new Eclipse Cross to slot above the next ASX and potentially straddle both the small and medium SUV segments, putting it up against to likes of the Nissan Qashqai as well as larger fare including the Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson.

As reported, the fate of the upper-large Pajero is still unclear, but the rugged Triton-based Pajero Sport will continue to be offered.

Mitsubishi announced its intention to concentrate on SUVs and light commercials at the 2013 Tokyo motor show, leaving the future of the Lancer small car and Mirage micro hatch unclear.

Although with the Renault-Nissan Alliance grabbing a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi last year, a future Mitsubishi small car could be shared across the group.

The Eclipse was a two-door coupe sold in the US and parts of South America, Asia, and the Middle East between 1989 and 2011, but it never made it Down Under.

Mitsubishi says that the red body colour that was especially developed for the new model “reflected in the name to evoke the brilliance of the prominence seen during the total solar eclipse”.

More information will be released when the Eclipse Cross is revealed at the Geneva motor show next month.