Mitsubishi Evolves Upwards

by Justin Berkowitz

Published: December 13th, 2007

Looks like I'm going to have to cash in a savings bond I got for my Bar Mitzvah. I know it's Risky Business, but Mitsubishi has just announced pricing estimates for the new Evo. Edmunds reports that the basic five-speed manual model will cost American buyers $33k to $34k (including delivery). The Evo MR with the dual clutch transmission (dubbed SST) is the apple of my automotive eye. That bad boy's gonna clock-in at $38k to $39k. Whoa! That's not just a Hell of a lot of money for a transmission and some tuning, it's a Hell of a lot of money for an Evo. The previous generation race rally replicar ran $29k for a stripper (and the car), $34k for the top o' the line are you really that mental, can you afford the dental version. The Evo's new sticker sticker strategy puts the models deep into real car territory, knocking on the door of the stupendous BMW 335i twin-turbo. The new Evo may again have what it takes to run with the big dogs, but there's bound to be blood on the showroom floor.

Justin Berkowitz

Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.

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4 of 37 comments

Strippo on Dec 14, 2007
The only arguments I’ve heard so far against this car is, “Oh, but it’s still a Lancer,” as if this car was a base Lancer given the HKS/Greddy treatment. In my opinion, that’s just horses**t. To say any Evo is just a Lancer with a turbo and AWD is to say, “I’ve never driven one hard,” and honestly, I have yet to hear a convincing argument for why this car does not justify its price. The point is not whether its price can be justified in a "this is what we have to charge you for this car configured this way if for it to be worth our while" kind of way, but rather whether a market for such a beast exists. The only reason Mitsu is offering a rally car at this price point is to give its stripper Evo gravitas relative to its competition. Otherwise there is no business case to be made for this thing. It's a halo car, not a money maker.

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S is for Supra on Dec 14, 2007

The price isn't that much more than what they were selling for in 06 (not including the stripper (as in no sound deading and even parts unpainted) RS) so I think they will still sell. When Mitsu comes out with the Ralliart in the $20's I think that will do well.

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Virtual Insanity on Dec 17, 2007

Strippo: Why anyone in that situation would prefer a rally car over, say, a Lotus Elise is beyond me. Because I don't live or drive the Nurburgring on my way into work.

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Strippo on Dec 17, 2007
Strippo: Why anyone in that situation would prefer a rally car over, say, a Lotus Elise is beyond me. Because I don’t live or drive the Nurburgring on my way into work. The assumption I'm working with is you're buying a $39K-ish toy. I was expressly referring to the "made of money" driver in that quote. The Elise is the better toy from the "gentleman's" perspective. If you're buying an Elise or a paddle shifting Evo as a commuter vehicle and not just a toy, as you're now implying, and you're made of money, then you're a sadist. For weekend fun, I'll take my g-forces in the horizontal rather than the vertical variety. And if it's raining, I have other pastimes that I prefer over driving. I still think the market is pretty thin for $37K+ dirt bikes on four wheels. It's thin for $45K sport bikes on four wheels, too, no doubt. But the latter is more my idea of kidney-friendly weekend fun. That's all I'm saying.

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