Mi Magazine
From the Editor
Welcome to Mi Magazine!
Sitting in the passenger seat of a White Diamond 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, I found myself balancing the delicate threshold between adrenaline-fueled excitement and sheer terror. The surface was snow-covered pave- ment and we were completely sideways – full opposite lock - the driver’s foot planted firmly on the accelerator. But things are not always as they seem. We were, in fact, on a closed ice track in Mirabel, Quebec and behind the wheel was someone more qualified to understand the exact limits of this SUV than anyone on earth. Kaoru Sawase is known as the Godfather of Super All-Wheel Control, the legendary all-wheel drive system keeping this Outlander PHEV from being completely out of control. Officially, he’s an Engineering Fellow with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Japan, but unofficially, he’s the invent- or of one of the world’s most advanced and celebrated pieces of vehicle technology. As you can read in the fascinating article ‘How Mitsubishi’s Lancer heritage shapes today’s award-winning lineup’ later in this issue of Mi Magazine, Sawase joined Mitsubishi Motors in 1988 and designed the computerized all- wheel drive system that made use of four-wheel steering, four-wheel ABS, and four-wheel independent suspen- sion, all of which was controlled by computers. The system gained the world’s first Active Yaw Control in 1996, which helped Mitsubishi win four-consecutive World Rally Championship driver’s titles under Tommi Mäkinen from 1996 to 1999. But it wasn’t just about race cars. The system became the foundation of Mitsubishi Motors’ passenger vehicles, and remains one the key fac- tors that sets our vehicles apart from the competition. So it was perhaps this knowledge in the back of my head that made me not beg to be let out of the intentionally drifting Outlander PHEV on that snowy circuit. Instead, I pleaded with Kaoru Sawase to do another lap, this time going even faster, and getting just a little bit more sideways. Meeting a legend of the automotive world is rare. Being in a vehicle with the inventor of S-AWC as he tested the latest version of his creation (and doing so while sitting in the comfort of a luxurious plug-in hybrid SUV with heat- ed leather seats) was an unforgettable experience. Happy reading,
Dan Dakin Editor, Mi Magazine Manager, Communications Strategy and PR Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada, Inc.
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