Tomorrow will mark the end of an era, as the last Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution goes on sale. After ten generations and 24 years of turbocharged, all-wheel-drive madness, this rally car for the road is sayonara-ing into the sunset.
Actually, it’s not so much a sale as an auction. The Triple Diamond Clan produced 1,600 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition models for the North American market, and the last one, number 1,600, is being auctioned off for charity.
Perhaps as a nod to its earliest roots as a raw, dirt-chucking, backwoods bomber, the Final Edition is based on a GSR with an old school 5-speed transmission. Engineers back in Okazaki gave it little extra oomph, with 303 horsepower and 305 pound-feet of torque, up from the standard 291 and 300.
It’ll also come with gunmetal Enkei 18-inchers, a black-painted aluminum roof, red stitching in the cabin, and special badging. Though four colors are available for the Final Edition, the very last one will be Diamond White, a nod to the bodies-in-white of an off-the-shelf race car.
At the time of this writing bidding is up to $71,100, quite a bit higher than the $37,995 MSRP. The winner can rest assured, however, that the money is going to a good cause — Second Harvest Food Bank and Feeding America. Bidding ends tomorrow on eBay. Rest in Peace, LanEvo.
Okay, so 2 days out, and *I’m* the ONLY commenter?
I guess Mitsu has REALLY fallen into the: “Eh, who cares?” category… Wow.
Now, maybe – JUST MAYBE – if they had built THIS car, “Perhaps as a nod to its earliest roots as a raw, dirt-chucking, backwoods bomber, the Final Edition is based on a GSR with an old school 5-speed transmission. Engineers back in Okazaki gave it little extra oomph, with 303 horsepower and 305 pound-feet of torque, up from the standard 291 and 300,” and put the occasional ad out there, they’d still be building them.
By all accounts, it’s a fine car, if somewhat “dated,” and really, if it’s a good car, who cares if it’s the same dashboard from 12 years ago? If it works, it works, and you’d be already familiar with all the controls. Change, just for the sake of change, is NOT a good thing.
I’ll throw this out there, just for the sake of discussion – if anyone ELSE cares to show up here: If they’d “Evoed-up” the Outlander and Sport, they’d have a real contender.