The arrival of the road-going, rally refugee, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Ten, or Evo X as it’s known in petrolhead parlance, has been the most ponderous wait for the last four years. A car honed from generation to generation and developed with a psychotic desire to leave no tenth of a second untapped.
The four year delay has all been about South African fuel quality and it is no wonder when the 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder powerplant is boosted to produce something like 217 kW and 366 Nm of torque; give or take a few kW and Nm here or there for the aforementioned poor fuel. It is also the Evo X’s computer trickery, like Super All-Wheel Drive and Active Yaw Control, that make the Evo X able to, quite literally, defy physics in the grip and handling department as well.
Unfortunately before we can even get our hands on a few examples of the beast, news last week coming out of the UK said that Mitsubishi will stop importing the car and will sell off the remaining stock in preparation for the Lancer’s 2014 replacement. There are believed to be ten models left in the UK.
The reasons cited for such a move, in a market that sold as many as 1 400 units annually, are the strong Yen and the impact it has had on the car’s pricing over the years. When it launched, the Evo X was priced at £30 000 (roughly R390 000 at today’s R.o.E). The price according to Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi’s UK Managing Director, would rise closer to £60 000 should they continue to import the car. Not a good sign for local pricing and perhaps the reason why Mitsubishi South Africa have been so tight lipped about it.
As a result of their popularity over the years, Mitsubishi UK also developed unique upgraded ‘FQ’ variants of the Evo X, such as FQ 400 with a power output of 300 kW. Worryingly, Mitsubishi have hinted that the new model would go for a more environmentally friendly, perhaps even a high-powered, hybrid, diesel drivetrain. Yikes. Really?
Yet still South Africa waits for our Evos. Mitsubishi South Africa says the Evo X will be with us next month, in August. We sincerely hope this is still the case. If the UK can’t shift their last ten Evo Xs, we will gladly have them – price no object.
