FirstDrive: Mitsubishi Evo XThe Evo X is a phenomenal machine, writes Werner Budding. Just make sure you're up to the challenge
Larger, heavier and fitted with systems that counter drifting: these are not the sort of features that would normally appeal to fans of the Mitsubishi Evolution. Luckily, things in this class are seldom what they seem.
To be clear, we shall call Mitsubishi's newest street weapon Evo X and not Lancer Evolution, as Mitsubishi Europe wants us to. The car maker has deliberately dropped the Roman numerals because this car doesn't resemble any of its predecessors. However, even though this 10th edition of the Evolution is indeed an all-new car, ardent lovers of the Japanese icon will argue that the digit is an inseparable part of the Evo, as a Boxer engine is an inseparable part of a 911.
The newest Evo has enough innovations and ground-breaking systems to make a car engineer drool like a baby. You need to spend at least a couple of days with the Evo X to actually understand it. Unfortunately, we only got one day at the Tokachi Proving Ground in Japan, so please forgive us if this story is incomplete. An opportunity to get revenge will come when the Evo touches down on European soil next spring.
Let's start with the car's looks. With its rugged spoilers, matt black front and more openings in the body than there are holes in an Emmental cheese, this car remains painful to look at for anyone who isn't passionate about extreme cars.
Then again, the Evo is not about aesthetics; it is on the earth to go ground-breakingly fast under all imaginable circumstances. And because a weight increase was inevitable - the new Lancer is bigger than its predecessor and the crash safety standards had to be improved - Mitsubishi went to extreme lengths to increase traction.
An exceptional novelty is the Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC). This system sees to it that the active central and rear diffs, the ABS, Mitsubishi's traction control system and the Brake Control Assist co-operate fully. Fortunately, it boils down to the fact that the control unit of the S-AWC treats each wheel individually under any condition. For example: when accelerating fiercely in a left-hand turn, the active rear diff gives the right rear wheel more torque than the left rear wheel. This slightly slows down the left front wheel and delays understeering. By slowing down the left-hand side of the Evo and increasing the pace of the right-hand side, the car takes a corner like it's on rails.
As each wheel's torque and braking pressure is individually regulated, you don't just get maximum grip on the limit and in an emergency stop, but a remarkable reduction in body movement as well. You can partly switch off the S-AWC, but you can't switch off the electronic diffs and ABS.
Mitsubishi has hardly altered the steering. The fully-hydraulic steering gear - the same one as before - enables you to strike up an almost perfect conversation with the front wheels and you feel that understeer is less prominently present than in the Evo IX. Yokohama's Advan A13 tyres, especially developed for the Evo X and only available through the Mitsubishi dealer, also contributed to this improvement.
The Evo X doesn't just feel stiffer: it is. In addition to a less flexible body, the suspension has an increased stiffness due to the use of high-quality steel and no aluminium.
As of old, the new 2-litre delivers 280bhp, although a Japanese technician replied with a "perhaps" to my question as to whether the X secretly had a few extra horses compared to the figures on paper. At least this was the case with earlier versions. The greatest improvement, apart from lower fuel consumption and more favourable emissions, is its wider powerband. In comparison with the previous engine, this results in an increase in torque and a flatter torque curve. In practice, the 2-litre is high-rev happy and, until the limiter calls it a day at 7600rpm, there is a serious increase in speed in all gears.
Even before Porsche and BMW have introduced their new twin-clutch gearbox, Mitsubishi has beaten them to it. Getrag developed the Twin-Clutch SST, which has six forward speeds and can be driven in three different modes. Normal is mainly economical and comfortable. The Sport mode is for quicker and later gearshifting.
However, the mode that really matters in this Evo is Super Sport. In this mode, the gearbox shifts up and down quick as lightning, the reaction time to the movements of the fixed paddles behind the wheel is shorter, and, if the gearbox is in the automatic mode, it does not switch up until just before you have reached max revs. The system can be operated manually too, of course, but it would take a genius to do it better than the programmed software of the Super Sport. The Twin Clutch-box will be an option on the Evo X GSR. The RS (rallysport version, see panel above) will be fitted with a common five-speed transmission, which is 10kg lighter than the six-speed in the current Evo IX. Lap times will tell us if an Evo X with dual-clutch is faster than a X with a five-speed. However, for those who won't be taking part in the World Rally Championship, the dual-clutch will easily better their ability to gearshift.
The Evo doesn't waste a single horsepower. All its power is effectively converted into forward momentum; it makes no difference if you are going down a straight or taking a corner. With ease, you direct the Evo like an arrow from corner to corner, whatever the surface - even a moderately talented pilot will spot the benefits. This is the Evo's greatest strength.
It is enough to adjust the settings to your abilities. But don't let the sublime operation of all these electronic safety nets take you by surprise. Because the electronic interventions, carried out ever so subtly, are thinking along with you, you could get the impression that you are the one that has everything under control.
And that's the snag. If indeed you are a good driver, you can easily surpass yourself. If the systems mislead you into a false sense of security, then you can take a real nose-dive. This car can bite, but if you handle it with care, it's truly phenomenal.
Factfile
Engine:aluminium four-cylinder with turbo, 16-valve, 1998 cm3,
Acceleration:0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds
Fuel:petrol
Max power (bhp/rpm):280/6500
Max torque (lb ft/rpm):422/3500
Specific power (bhp/l):140
Specific mass (kg/bhp):5.4
Transmission:twin-clutch six-speeder or manual five-speeder, electronically controlled mid and rear diffs
Steering:power-assisted steering rack
Wheels:front: McPherons with strut bar and 25mm stabi; rear: multi-link and 23mm stabi
Brakes:ventilated discs all round, optional tweedelige discs front
Prices:unconfirmed, but expect it to be close to €60,000.
When:launch in Europe, May 2008
The GSR or the RS?
The Evo X range will consist of a GSR and an RS that is available by special order only. The latter is intended for rallysport and is 100kg lighter, enabling it to hit 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds (instead of 5.2).
The GSR is available with a manual five-speed or a Twin-Clutch gearbox, the RS only with a five-speeder. Furthermore, this RS has a mechanical rear diff, no airco compressor, a reduced amount of noise insulation, no S-AWC and simple seats (as these will be replaced by full-race specimens anyway).
Evo's options list includes two packages. The first, the Stylish Exterior package, has chrome in the nose and around the windows and a grey instead of a black grille. Unnecessary, all of them. The second, the High Performance package, is quite interesting though, and consists of light aluminium BBS wheels, which yield a total weight reduction on the non-suspended weight of 3.7kg.
This package also includes Bilstein shocks, making it just a tad harder than with the original Mitsubishi shocks, and Eibach springs. Moreover, it gets tweedelige braking discs up front, realising another weight reduction of 1.3kg per wheel.
Every Evo has a handbrake release, disengaging the mid diff almost entirely, so that in the event of a handbrake action, the power remains on the front wheels only.