New Magna

[rob_o]

Taken from GoAuto E-News


Mitsubishi releases fi rst details of its make-or-break Magna replacement
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS
FIRST-RATE quality, an advanced V6 engine, improved
transmissions, sophisticated suspension and a stiff
body will help defi ne Mitsubishi’s crucial new Magna
replacement as a dedicated driver’s car.
This was the message Mitsubishi Motors Australia
Limited (MMAL) delivered this week in the fi rst of a series
of briefi ngs to be held in the run up to the sedan’s launch at
the Australian International Motor Show in October.
While the new nameplate and a moniker for higherseries
models (replacing Verada) are still to be confi rmed,
MMAL management stressed the $600 million it has
invested in the car, codenamed PS41, would ensure it
was far removed from its left-hand drive North American
donor car, the Galant.
Indeed, 70 per cent of PS41 will be new and more than
2000 components unique to the Australian-made vehicle.
This week’s briefi ng was held in conjunction with the
opening of a new $40 million ‘AA Class Tandem Press Line’
which, as part of a wider $250m upgrade to Mitsubishi’s
Tonsley Park assembly plant, is said to “guarantee”
unprecedented levels of quality in an Australian vehicle.
According to Mitsubishi, the ability to stamp one-piece
body side mouldings, and increased accuracy stemming
from new manufacturing processes like Mitsubishi’s ‘Toy-
Tab’ panel-fi t system, will contribute to a signifi cantly
stronger, smoother, quieter and more refi ned car, and one
which is also easier to enter and egress.
“Our mandate is to have our new car be the best-quality
car ever built in Australia,” said MMAL President and
CEO, Tom Phillips.
The new processes will make for a stiffer body – thought
to be almost double that of the current Magna – which in
turn will aid handling, ride and refi nement qualities to the
point where MMAL insists the PS41 will lead all locally
produced vehicles in these areas. And most imports, too.
This, in turn, fi ts neatly with fi ndings from the largest
market research campaign Mitsubishi has ever undertaken
in Australia, which indicates that Australian family car
buyers now consider sportiness and power to be prime
purchase considerations.
To that end, the PS41 will use a variation of Mitsubishi’s venerable 3.8-
litre 24-valve V6 engine that – backed by the company’s MIVEC variable
valve technology and a new-generation Bosch engine management system
– should boost power and torque to around 192kW and 335Nm respectively,
as well as improve emissions and driveability.
MMAL’s General Manager for Research and Development, Lee Kernich,
said the company took the opportunity to improve the V6 – to be built in
Japan – as it had to be re-engineered to meet the relevant Australian Design
Rules.
It has been calibrated “to suit Australian drivers”, and is part of what Mr
Kernich referred to as “control tuning” and “optimising” of the entire PS41
drivetrain, including the drive-by-wire accelerator pedal and wheel/tyre
combinations.
A smoother, less-intrusive traction control system will also form part of
the package, while Mr Kernich added further that the engine management
system would be compatible with a turbocharger.
He stopped short of saying there were plans for such a model, but take it
as read that one is at least on the drawing board.
Harnessing all this is an upgraded fi ve-speed automatic transmission
with a Tiptronic-style shift and a new control unit featuring driver-adaptive
hardware for increased response and greater effi ciency.
A manual gearbox, believed to be a six-speed unit, will further enhance
the PS41’s driver-orientated credentials.
Questioned on possible enthusiast driver resistance to
the car’s continuing front-wheel drive set-up, Mr Kernich
pointed to research indicating 70 per cent of large-car
buyers did not consider front-drive a disadvantage. Toyota
could also attest to this with the success of its Camry
Sportivo.
All-wheel drive variants have been ruled out for now.
A strut-based front suspension design with a fl at
fabricated cross-member and low-mounted steering rack,
and a similarly placed multi-link arrangement in the rear,
are expected to reduce road noise as well as boot-space
intrusion.
Ultimately, “excellent roll control, fl at cornering feel and
European handling characteristics” are all promised for the PS41.
Body rigidity, already stiffened by the single-piece stamping system, will
be bolstered by extra body bracing between the front suspension strut towers
and rear-seat bracing – meaning the new car, like the current Magna, will
eschew a split-fold rear seat.
According to Mr Kernich, incorporating a split-fold mechanism
compromises body strength and rigidity. However, he did indicate that a
larger aperture than the Magna’s ski-port opening should be available.
Braking will be by 16-inch ventilated discs up-front and 16-inch gridventilated
discs at the rear, the latter a preferred option over the 14-inch
solids used on the US Galant.
It seems Mitsubishi has run out of time and resources to
develop 17-inch wheels for the PS41, which must comply
with the company’s extensive year-long wheel-testing regime
before being signed off for production.
Far from being a hindrance to the Australian team, the US
Galant platform has provided substantial economies of scale
in various development and engineering areas.
“If we had to start with a clean sheet of paper we’d still
pretty much end up with the vehicle we have now,” Mr
Kernich said.
The fi rst Australian prototype PS41 in right-hand drive
form was developed in September 2003 and was tested
extensively here, in Europe (mostly Germany) and Japan.
Around August last year, the fi rst off-tool-parts prototype
arrived.
The car is now in the trial production phase, and will again repeat the
vigorous testing leading up to Job Number One (to borrow a Ford phrase)
in September.
Confi rmation of the car’s name is expected next month, ahead of the
unveiling of the PS41’s locally adapted exterior styling which should carry
greater differentiation than ever between the main car and higher-series
model.

[Hawk]

A little bit hard to read....but the information is there. Hopefully for Mitsu's sake it doesn't look as horrendous as it has been.

[RSgerry]

all they really need to do is change that front end and sales will double. are they really that out of touch?

[Cobra]

All the really need is RWD and a 6.1L hemi V8.

[InitialD]

I think the latest Magna is great, Id rather it anyday over a crappy commo

[Aussie Falcon]

There are Magna sketches in John Mellor's GoAuto e-news, the rear angle especially looks rather sporty.

http://mellor.carsales.com.au/mellor/enews.nsf/edition/$first

[lv619]

man that was hard to read...


Lets just hope (for mitsubishi's sake) that they dont end up with another abortion of a car like their last one (style wise). Would be interesting to see how they fair with a turbo though (that is if they actually end up going down that path).

[XP6]

Whats so hard about reading that?

[lv619]

Originally Posted by ST170ish

Whats so hard about reading that?

Maybe if they were aligned formally and not all clustered together (i.e. in seperate paragraphs) it would help... :tosser1: sleep:

[4.0i_SiX]

Change the magna to a RWD format ( too large to be a FWD imo ) or just go AWD on all models, completely revamp the front end styling and they might have a car worth buying

[Bearman]

Sounds great from Mitsubishi but they have overlooked one vital detail. This car needs to be RWD!!!

Fafuxsakes, when are these clowns going to learn?? Instead they continue to push onto the Aussie motorist a configuration that has been overwhelmingly rejected. "FWD not a hinderance to enthusiasts" they say? "Attest to the success of the Toyota Camry Sportivo" Success?? At what?? I see two-thirds of f*ck all of them on the road. Huge success.........

With Mitsubishi persisting with the large car FWD configuration it is ensuring it will only ever be a bit player in this market and will never be competitive with Ford or Holden

[loxxr6]

RWD or 4WD would be good.

The series prior to the current one looked sweet.

The US one I've seen pics of looks fugly.

[turboute]

So who would consider the Magna a worthy rival to either the Falcon or Commodore if it was RWD? (compared to stock 6 cyl variants of each)

[RED_EL_XR8]

Originally Posted by turboute

So who would consider the Magna a worthy rival to either the Falcon or Commodore if it was RWD? (compared to stock 6 cyl variants of each)

Thats Mitsubishisi problem they allways tried to flog cars off as something they weren't. Our market wasn't big enough to support another player is the same very competitive segments. Magna is not in the Falcon class and no amount of deceptive advertising will get it there. It would need lots more than just RWD.

Mitsubishi should take a look at Subaru, they build great cars that never pretend to be anything other than Subarus. And that is why they are successful.

If Magna had concentrated on being a better medium class car it may have stood a chance. :gren:

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by RED_EL_XR8

Mitsubishi should take a look at Subaru, they build great cars that never pretend to be anything other than Subarus. And that is why they are successful.

Wheels actually found the AWD Magna to be a better car than the Liberty in a road test a while back (and also better than the Maxima), not that anyone cares to remember.

Originally Posted by XR8fella

crap torque for a 3.8litre

Holdens old ecotec 3.8L provided 305NM, the high performance version of the new alloytec puts down 340NM, the standard Alloytec puts down 320NM.

I don't think its as crap as your suggesting.

Originally Posted by bearman

Fafuxsakes, when are these clowns going to learn?? Instead they continue to push onto the Aussie motorist a configuration that has been overwhelmingly rejected.

Well with the exclusions of the prestige euro cars, the far majority of "family owned" cars are fwd. Toyota is number one by selling them. Most people put perceived safety, quality and looks above performance when choosing a car. We need to remember that the car enthuisast is in the minority these days. Most people couldn't give a stuff about the actual driving dynamics between fwd and rwd.

Mitsubishi is basically in the same position that Ford would be in right now had they not spent the money on the BA or if the BA failed. Who cares whether its FWD, RWD, AWD 6WD - so long as it works. Realistically how many people on the roads seriously drive their cars to such a limit that a distinction between RWD and FWD is needed? Maybe towing, thats about it. You can only drive up to 110km/h anyway, and you can't say any engine over 2.2L these days wouldnt have highway overtaking performance.

What matters is that competition is always good and its important that Mitsubishi have some success with this model otherwise quite a few aussies will be on the dole que and South Australia will lose a major industry. Its bad enough the engine plant has closed.

[Polyal]

I think the magna would sell alot better if it was RWD, but exports are high on their list aswell remember and teh US and where ever else it goes want FWD for safety reasons. In other words they cant drive for Sh!t, but to be fair they drive in ice/snow alot more than we do.

[Bossxr8]

Its weird that the biggest wheel size they have is 16 inch. Are these guys stupid or what. Who will buy the sports version when the biggest wheels available are the same size fitted to a BA XT. The BA upgrade will be launched around the same time and will crap on it from great heights although the new V6 seems like it will go pretty well.
How are they going to recoup the 600 million dollars they spent when they will probably sell less than 2000 a month. Will it be like the current model Magna and still be on sale in mildly updated form 10 years from now? I think its the only way they can.

[b2tf]

In regards to the wheels - not everybody wants to have 17 or 18" wheels, and pay for them as well as the tyres. Fleet cars etc, cars with older owners, are usually the ones who will stick with the basic options of a 15 or 16" wheel.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by back2thefutura

In regards to the wheels - not everybody wants to have 17 or 18" wheels, and pay for them as well as the tyres. Fleet cars etc, cars with older owners, are usually the ones who will stick with the basic options of a 15 or 16" wheel.

Not everyone does but people who purchase the sports models would prefer big wheels, and tyres for 17's these days are reasonably priced. 16's as the biggest size on a car as big as this is pathedic, especially considering that 16 inch is the smallest you can get on a Falcon.

[Olympus]

Originally Posted by Polyal

I think the magna would sell alot better if it was RWD, but exports are high on their list aswell remember and teh US and where ever else it goes want FWD for safety reasons. In other words they cant drive for Sh!t, but to be fair they drive in ice/snow alot more than we do.

We haven't been exporting to the US for over a year now.
Export is only GCC, as in countries like Iraq, Iran, Kuweit etc..
We have send a tiny amount to Canada, but.

[DanXR6T]

umm if i read it correctly it says 16" BRAKE DISCS not rims.. The rims would have to be bigger..

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Axeman82

umm if i read it correctly it says 16" BRAKE DISCS not rims.. The rims would have to be bigger..

If you read down a little bit further it says that Mitsubishi didn't have the funds to develop 17 inch or bigger wheels. So 16's are the biggest.

[Lukeyson]

crap torque for a 3.8litre

[buickman]

I think it might look a bit like the one's for sale in the US.
Here is a site that the car might look like.

www.mitsucars.com/galant/index.html

buickman

[8pAc]

Galants are much nicer than magnas IMO, and come in awd turbo format, it is slightly smaller than the magna and it probably would have landed them more sales.

I think it has nothing to do with RWD for the market Mitsu is in. Lets wait and see what the car will be like before we pass judgement.

[Dave_au]

The TJ VRX did sit on 17s.

[FNQracing]

I could be way off the mark here, but I beleive this spy shot that appears to have been taken in outback Oz to be the next Magna.



Seems very close to the "official sketch" from GoAuto

[The Stylist]

[QUOTE=FFOracing]I could be way off the mark here, but I beleive this spy shot that appears to have been taken in outback Oz to be the next Magna.

I don't think it is the next Magna. The new Magna will share the same basic hard-points as the U.S. market Galant, such as the roof line/glass area and the doors - which look very different compared to that spy shot.

Brave money would label the spy pic as the VE Commodore or the next Falcon or even the next Camry. But is likely a U.S. market car.

[FNQracing]

Originally Posted by The Stylist

Brave money would label the spy pic as the VE Commodore or the next Falcon or even the next Camry. But is likely a U.S. market car.

Definately NOT the VE or Falc. The rear 3/4 is almost identical to the sketch. Door handles and roofline suggest something from the mitsu stable.