Australia on the list for Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition
Australia has been allocated just one hundred fifty cars to farewell the iconic Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.
The last of the turbocharged and four-wheel drive Evo pocket rockets — called, not remarkably, the Final Edition — has just been announced with a stringently limited production run.
The last cars will come down the line in Japan in March and the Australian cars will be delivered in several batches, beginning just before Christmas.
Mitsubishi Australia is promising a slight boost to power and torque from the current car — which has 217kW and 366Nm — but is not going into specifics.
It’s also refusing to discuss pricing, with the current model sitting at $52,990 as a five-speed manual and $58,990 with its twin-clutch auto.
“Yes, we will be getting one hundred fifty of the Final Edition cars. We’re hoping the very first will be here before the end of the year,” says Mitsubishi spokeswoman, Shayna Welsh.
“We’ll wait and see on numbers, and if we can get more that’s something we will consider.”
The original Lancer Evo models were only imported privately for rally use in Australia, before the very first official link was forged by Ralliart Australia in two thousand one for the Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition.
The Lancer Evolution has reached total maturity as a high-performance four-wheel drive sedan
The very first Evo sold by Mitsubishi Motors Australia was the Evo VIII in 2004, but limited to one hundred units per year under the Sporting and Enthusiasts Vehicle Scheme. The Evo IX was the very first fully homologated Evo imported in two thousand five and the Lancer Evolution, unofficially the Evo X, was very first sold in 2008.
The current total is two thousand four hundred eighty two cars and the most popular is the Evo X with one thousand three hundred sixteen sales.
Welsh says the influence of the Lancer Evo has been evident.
“Via the last decade, Lancer Evolution served as a halo for the Lancer sedan range and the Mitsubishi brand on the strength of its incredible rally heritage, state-of-the-art technology and sure-footed dynamics,” she says.
“The Lancer Evolution has reached utter maturity as a high-performance four-wheel drive sedan; however, Mitsubishi Motors will apply technologies honed from the Lancer Evolution, like S-AWC four-wheel drive, to other models, as with Outlander PHEV.”
Albeit Japan has virtually ruled out any Evo successor, as it switches its small-car concentrate to a joint program with Daimler, Welsh says the door is not downright closed.
“Mitsubishi Motors is aware there’s customer expectation to produce a spectacle model, and a spectacle version of the company’s PHEV technology could be something it looks at in the future,” she says.
“MMC is about to challenge in two thousand fifteen FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup Baja Portalegre 500, Portugal, to demonstrate its progress in this area. The entry will be MMC’s very first official factory entry in an off-road event for around a decade.
“In terms of Australia, there’s certainly an appetite for a spectacle model in our product line-up. We’re hoping it’s something MMC looks at in the future.”