There are leaks and there are leaks, but we seldom see them this far ahead of time. This is an official Mitsubishi teaser image of the new Outlander, which will make its world debut in both internal-combustion and plug-in hybrid form at the Paris motor show - which is at the end of September!
That may be jumping the gun a bit, but Mitsubishi reckon they have something to shout about, with what they claim is the first mainstream vehicle from a major manufacturer designed from the outset to run either conventional or hybrid power trains.
Not only that, the hybrid version of the new Outlander combines the best of all three propulsion mediums - pure electric, hybrid and range-extended - with all-wheel drive, in one vehicle.
It's the Three Diamonds' first plug-in hybrid, but it's based on pure electric technology, something Mitsubishi is well-qualified in, with its series of Miev and i-MieV battery cars going back more than a decade.
That's backed up by a petrol engine because, according to Mitsubishi, petrol power is better suited to world markets than diesel - and it'll be the first all-wheel drive electric car in series production.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The new Outlander PHEV has an electric motor on each axle, a petrol engine under the bonnet and batteries under the cabin floor.
It can be driven either as an all-wheel drive pure electric, plugging in to a domestic socket between short trips, or as a range-extended electric, with the petrol engine spinning a generator to charge the batteries as you drive - just like the Chevy Volt.
Or, if you need a lot of grunt, the petrol engine can drive the front wheels directly, in tandem with the two electric motors.
At its best, says Mitsubishi, in range-extended mode, it should give about the same performance as the Concept PX-MiEV II show car, which was used as a test bed for this drivetrain and which achieved a range of more than 800km and a CO2 target below 50g/km.
It all sounds very complicated, but in practice it should be no more complex to operate than the transmission of a Series IIa Land Rover.
The new Outlander will go on sale in Europe in conventional mode during the third quarter of 2012, with the multi-mode plug-in version to follow during the course of 2013.
The new Outlander is scheduled for release in South Africa in the first quarter of 2014; Mitsubishi SA says no decision has been made as to whether that will include the plug-in hybrid version.