By Alex Dykes
November 15, 2007
With Subaru taking the WRX down to Camry-like levels of boring, potential buyers of cheap performance from the Land of the Rising Sun now have reason to rejoice: Mitsubishi released the Lancer Evo X at the LA Auto show today. With 291 hp and a road-warping 300 ft-lbs of torque from its 2.0L four-banger, this baby is set to scoot. Transferring that torque to the pavement is a reworked version of Mitsubishi's fantastic AWD system, now coupled with a VW-style double clutch robotic manual. When asked about performance, Michael Evanoff of Mitsubishi told me "0-60 times are expected to closely follow the Japanese official times of low 5 seconds." If fit and finish in the production models are this good, the plain-Jane WRX STi doesn't stand a chance.
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POWERED
November 15th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Does Mitsubishi still make passenger cars for the NA market???
I haven’t seen one since I was down at the junkyard last year…..
November 15th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I’ve just started to see reports of the new STI and EVO. Both seems to be softened up a bit to make them better real world cars. Funniest thing is the base EVO has a 5 speed. The STI looks weird(again) but I like its fender flared fugly looks.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
the plain-Jane WRX STi doesn’t stand a chance.
Plain-Jane and STi in the same sentence? I hope you were kidding. Even if the STi was the ugliest/most boring car in the world (which it is not) it STILL wouldn’t be considered plain-jane.
There is nothing plain-jane about a car with 4WD, and over 300HP from a 4 cyl turbocharged boxer engine.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I’m not really a big fan of the Evo but at least Mitsubishi made it look a little more aggressive compare to the new STI. To me performance wise the STI will always be a little better then the Evo but when it come to look, the Evo has the edge. But I really do believe that the new Nissan GTR that is coming out in 2009 will blow the competition away….
November 15th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Not a fan of the looks. The thing I always liked about the STi/I and to a lesser extend the Evo were the in your face, boom I’m here, look the fck at me styling. Its still pretty out there, but just not what I want. And while faster around the track, in real world its slower than the outgoing Evo IX, which if it weren’t for insurance, I would have picked up. Still, its keeping the Evo alive, but it just looks to concepty for me. And I’m gonna miss the 4G63. Sneeze on it, and it makes more power.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
For twice as much as an Evo or a STI I hope the GTR does blow away the competition.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
When is TTAC going to get their hands on one?
Does Mitsubishi still make passenger cars for the NA market???
Eclipse
Lancer
Galant
Word on the street is that Mitsubishi is working on a detuned version of the Evo (minus the S-AWC) to contend with the base WRX.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Will there be a stick-shift version? Durability and acceleration aside, a proper stick-shift is more fun.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
I’m sickened that we as car enthusiasts are in need of a serious “save-the-real-manuals” campaign.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
To me performance wise the STI will always be a little better then the Evo but when it come to look, the Evo has the edge.
You should check the stats between the last gen of these two cars. Performance stats definitely favor the Evo. I’ve driven both, and I’ll tell ya, particularly when cornerning, the Evo really stands out.
Check out this link for a little more info:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=109126
November 15th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
The STi costs $35k+. Good crap. I remember back in the day when the WRX was a hot little machine that regular people could afford when they needed an adrenaline injection. Now the ‘rex runs $25k bare-bones and the hopped up STi is sitting squarely in luxury sport-sedan range. I’m interested to see what the Evo X ends up costing, and I can’t wait for the detuned ‘rex-killer… I like a little competition, keeps everybody on their toes.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Will there be a stick-shift version? Durability and acceleration aside, a proper stick-shift is more fun.
There are two trim models for the Evo: GSR and MR
The GSR will come with a 5-speed manual, the MR will have the six-speed sequential gearbox.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
The Old EVO 9 was faster than the STI in a straight line (in fact, it was rated lower but dynoed higher) AND around any track you can name.
The new EVO’s system is incredible – active yaw control with AWD . . . . . supposedly this new car is a tad slower in a straight line but several seconds faster around most tracks.
It will be an autocross monster with the new yaw control system (accelerating the outside rear wheel to whip the car around turns)
not to mention, its still ugly, but nowhere near as much of a sin-against-god as the new STI
Sorry Subaru, consider your butts whipped.
November 16th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
The new WRX in hatchback form looks pretty good to me. Definitely not as bland as the sedan.
I wonder if the next-gen STi will be sedan-only?