The next Mitsubishi Eclipse to grace the U.S. market will be called “Sportback EV” and will share its platform with the latest Nissan Leaf, the company freely admits.
Despite looking like a lazy badge-engineering job, Mitsubishi claims the car will “become a part of its product strategy” in North America until 2030, which implies launching new models and electrifying the existing ones.
Compared to the Leaf, the Eclipse Sportback EV features a distinct radiator grille, its own headlights and taillights, and a new rear bumper. Other than that, it can be easily mistaken for the Leaf, which is also offered in the States.
The interior remains hidden, but we don’t expect major changes there. For the powertrains, the current Leaf EV offers a choice between 177 PS (175 hp / 130 kW) and 218 PS (215 hp / 160 kW). Battery range tops out at 488 kilometers (303 miles), and that’s with the bigger of the two available packs.
The original Mitsubishi Eclipse was coupe-shaped and had the temper of a sports car. It was announced in 1989 and dropped out of production in 2011 after four generations and just a touch over 900,000 units sold worldwide.