Mitsubishi ASX VR-e: A 459 HP Electric Hot Hatch With EVO DNA

Mitsubishi’s product line in North America has leaned on rebadged, slow-to-refresh models for years, but the brand’s overseas portfolio tells a very different story. The clearest example is the ASX VR-e, an all-wheel-drive electric hot hatch producing 459 horsepower — a machine that invites obvious comparisons to the rally-bred Lancers of Mitsubishi’s past.

One detail needs airing up front: the ASX VR-e does not roll out of a Mitsubishi factory. It is assembled in Taiwan by Foxconn, the electronics giant behind the Foxtron automotive brand. Purists may see nothing more than another badge-engineered showroom filler, yet that framing ignores plenty of precedent. Magna Steyr has long built the G-Wagen for Mercedes-Benz without diluting its identity, and the original Eclipse and Talon emerged from Diamond Star Motors rather than Mitsubishi or Chrysler plants. Judged by that standard, the Foxtron-built ASX VR-e has a legitimate claim to the spirit of the Galant VR-4 and Lancer Evolution.

The hardware backs that claim up. A 57.7 kWh lithium-ion pack — modest in size, and therefore modest in weight — feeds two electric motors for a combined 459 hp (342 kW) and roughly 700 Nm of torque. That output launches the car from a standstill to 60 mph in under 4.0 seconds. For context, the most potent combustion Lancer Evo ever offered, the UK-exclusive Evo X FQ-440 MR, made 440 hp and more than 100 lb-ft less twist.

Buyers in Taiwan and Australia can already order the ASX VR-e, and as with the Lancer range before it, the lineup includes milder versions that trade performance for additional range. Those variants are unlikely to reach other markets, which makes the flagship the one worth watching.

The story sits inside a broader revival of electric performance cars with rally or retro heritage — Peugeot’s 280 hp E-208 GTi, an electric Lancia HF aimed squarely at the Renault 5, and a reborn Renault 8 Gordini all point the same direction. Whether Mitsubishi brings the ASX VR-e to more markets remains an open question, but as a statement of what the brand can still build, it lands with real force.