Final Mitsubishi Evo arrives

Mitsubishi signalled the end of its iconic Lancer Evo a few months ago when it announced a limited-build final version would go on sale globally, with just 150 examples from the total 1000-vehicle build to find their way to Australia.

The revelation of a final Evo edition created such a buzz that the Australian arm of Mitsubishi found itself swamped with more than 650 pre-registrations from hopeful customers at the breaking of the news in July this year.

Now, Mitsubishi Motors in Australia has marked its arrival by revealing full details of the Lancer Evo Final Edition, which are pretty much as announced in July.

With 226kW and 414Nm on hand it approaches the Japanese Final Edition Evo’s 230kW/429Nm, making it the most powerful Australian Evo yet. It’s up by 9kW and 48Nm over the regular 10th generation Evo, and is complemented by some braking and handling mods as well.

Light-weight Brembo brake rotors help contain the extra performance, as do suspension tweaks that include Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs.

Mitsubishi says the extra power has been made possible through the use of sodium-filled exhaust valves that are not only better able to dissipate heat build-up, but are lighter as well.

The turbocharged all-alloy, square-configuration 2.0-litre Evo engine uses the latest version of Mitsubishi’s MIVEC variable valve-timing system and is based on the design that Finnish driver Tommi Makinen used to take out four straight titles in the World Rally Championship.

The five-speed manual-transmission-only Final Edition Evo uses the company’s Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) all-wheel drive system that offers three selectable traction modes for driving on tarmac, gravel or snow.

There’s some dressing up too: The Final Edition Evo gets a set of 18-inch satin platinum BBS alloy wheels, gloss black bonnet vents and front bumper centre, dark-chrome outlined radiator grille and its own two tone colour range:  Starlight White, Tungsten Grey and Red with a contrasting black roof and Phantom Black with a contrasting gloss black roof.

Inside, there’s a set of Recaro front bucket seats trimmed in part-leather with red stitching, as well as black headlining, black pillars and a leather-look console with red stitching to match the Recaros.

Each Final Edition Evo gets its own build number, from AU0001 to AU0150.

Although it’s largely academic because there’s going to be precious little chance of securing one, the price for the Final edition Evo has been set at $53,700 -- only $90 more than the regular manual-transmission model ($52,990).

As we've reported, while the Lancer Evo is dead as we know it — and Mitsubishi continues to search for solutions to produce a replacement for the aged Lancer itself — the Evo spirit will live on in the form of high-performance versions of crossovers like the ASX and Outlander.

Speaking at the Japanese launch of the Lancer Evo Final Edition in July, a Mitsubishi engineer told motoring.com.au the company has "taken the Evo dynasty as far as it could go".

"The times are different now. The market does not want high-powered AWD turbos anymore that struggle to clear stringent CO2 and mileage requirements. We will use the Evo's 4WD technology on future vehicles like the Outlander and others."

Mitsubishi president and CEO Tetsuro Aikawa confirmed at last month's Tokyo motor show that there would be "no direct successor to the Evo" and that a high-performance plug-in hybrid SUV will be the closest thing to a replacement we'll see.

"With PHEV (plug-in hybrid) technology, we can make an SUV that behaves like an Evo," he said.

Aikawa did not rule out another sports car from Mitsubishi, but firmly stated the company's future lay with SUVs, pointing as evidence to the high-performance racing version of the Outlander PHEV that took on the recent Baja rally.

"I think that in the future, there will be a comeback [of the Mitsubishi sports car], but with the environment taken into consideration. There is no real concrete plan at the moment, but it is my dream this becomes a concrete reality.

“We will have a performance type of vehicle, but… we are going to focus on SUVs.

"And, of course, the Evo's DNA did not disappear; it lives on in the (Outlander) PHEV's all-wheel-drive system."