Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is a Japanese sports sedan manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 to 2016. Developed originally for the World Rally Championship, the four-door car featured permanent all-wheel drive and turbocharged power. Mitsubishi produced ten distinct generations over twenty-four years, designating each edition with a Roman numeral.

Every generation used a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine linked to an all-wheel-drive system. The first generation generated 184 kW (247 hp) and reached a top speed of 228 km/h (142 mph). Mitsubishi introduced Active Yaw Control on the rear differential of Evolution IV in 1996 to direct power between the left and right wheels during cornering. Aluminum body panels arrived on Evolution V in 1998, while a six-speed manual gearbox joined the lineup with Evolution VIII. The series concluded with the tenth generation, which produced 226 kW (303 hp) in its farewell edition.

Finnish driver Tommi Mäkinen drove the sedan to four consecutive World Rally Championship drivers titles between 1996 and 1999. Mitsubishi captured the World Rally Championship manufacturers title in 1998 after victories in Sweden, Argentina, Finland, Italy, and Australia. Richard Burns took his first career world rally win driving an Evolution III in New Zealand in 1996. Production car rally drivers also secured multiple titles in the Group N category throughout the 1990s and 2000s on gravel and tarmac circuits across Europe and Asia.

Automobile Magazine named the sedan its Automobile of the Year in 2003 when the model arrived in the United States market. Actor Paul Walker drove a customized Evolution VII in the 2003 action film 2 Fast 2 Furious. Japanese television and automotive jurors awarded the tenth generation the Car of the Year Japan Special Award in 2007. Manufacturing concluded in 2016 after Mitsubishi produced a limited run of 1,600 numbered Final Edition sedans for North American buyers.