2012 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gsr Awd on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Final Edition gets official for Japan only

It'll be the end of an era when Mitsubishi discontinues the Lancer Evolution, putting to rest a dynasty that challenged the Subauru WRX STI for decades. But before it does, the Diamond-Star automaker is sending off its most celebrated model with the Final Edition you see here. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as cool as the concept. While the showcar pumped the output from its 2.0-liter turbo four to 473 horsepower thanks to a remapped ECU and a fresh HKS turbocharger, the production version is sticking with the stock 296 hp. It's otherwise based on the GSR model, so it's got a five-speed gearbox, but packs a long list of top-shelf equipment: BBS alloys, Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs, Brembo brakes, Recaro seats... the works. Mitsubishi will only offer 1,000 examples of the Evo X Final Edition in Japan, where buyers will be able to choose between five exterior colors and a contrasting roof in black or white. We don't know at this point whether a similar special will be offered Stateside, but if it is, we hope it'll pack at least some of the concept's power upgrades (we can dream, right?).

Turns out Mitsubishi's history is far more interesting than we thought

Former Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin was kind enough to drop this little nugget onto Twitter yesterday: the history of Mitsubishi timeline on the company's press website. Basically, it's a virtual museum, spanning from the 1917 Mitsubishi Model A to the 2008 Galant Fortis Sportback. Frankly, it's not that surprising that they didn't go much further beyond that, but still, the timeline provides both a fun trip down memory lane and an introduction to fun and/or wacky JDM models we never got.  Besides showing photos, there's actually a sizable amount of info for each, which has quite clearly and often delightfully been translated from Japanese. Take the New Minica Toppo that "adopted a 1:2 door configuration with a single door on the driver's side and two doors on the passenger side (think a Hyundai Veloster), as well as a 'Super High Roof' that added 70 mm to the height of the standard roof ... Addressing the desire to drive something a little different, the lineup was soon joined by a number of variants with personalities designed to bring more fun to the class and including the recreation specification Carabosse, the young mother and baby-oriented Marble, and the Town Bee with its round frog-eye headlamps projecting just forward of the leading edge of the engine hood." Also, check out those diagonal door handles. There are more than just JDM kei car oddities, however. There's the Mitsubishi FTO, which you may remember from Gran Turismo and other racing video games from back in the day. It was "a car that delivered fun-to-drive qualities in abundance (and) was selected 1994-1995 Japan Car of the Year." If you didn't know, it was called the FTO because it slotted below the Mitsubishi GTO, the car you know as the 3000GT. I didn't know that before. Thanks, timeline! There's also the off-roady JDM Delica vans that are now all over the Pacific Northwest having surpassed the 25-year import embargo. The 1994 Delica Space Gear (above left) was notable in that it moved the engine under the hood rather than beneath the front seats where it was previously (above right with the Delica Star Wagon), but according to the timeline "The Gear variant name was added in the belief that customers would become attached to it as a familiar 'piece of gear' for leisure and everyday purposes." Judging by the ones I see around here in Portland, mission accomplished. "Suspension was by double wishbone at the front and a 5-link with coil spring arrangement at the rear.

Mitsubishi reveals Delica D:5 off-road van and 'concept' crossovers ahead of Tokyo Auto Salon

It's easy to forget Mitsubishi still makes some cool vehicles. If you look past the mirage however, you'll find vehicles like the Delica D:5 van. Mitsubishi is on its way to the Tokyo Auto Salon with a concept version of this Delica, alongside an Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross, with both SUVs claiming the name "Street Sport." We're all weird, so it stands to reason that the off-road-looking Delica D:5 excites us the most. While the normal Delica D:5 is now more of a van with SUV ride height, this one comes with a full suite of plastic body cladding for protection around the front and rear of the van. A heavy-duty roof rack and row of LED lights up top give it the roof of a true overlander. Some bars on the sides and bright red mud flaps hint even further that this should be taken off the pavement. What Mitsu doesn't talk about is an upgraded suspension. Granted, the Delica D:5 already looks lifted and ready for some moderate trail work, but a full-on rock crawler van would have been epic. The standard all-wheel drive system with four-wheel drive lock will have to do for now. For cars sold in the states, Mitsubishi brought some tarted-up versions of the Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross. Both SUVs feature similar design language, as they try to look sportier than their powertrains give away. Yellow accents along with blacked-out everything and some stickers are really the selling points here. Meaning, there isn't much, if anything, to get excited about with these "concepts." They're more sticker packages than anything, and don't give us much hope for anything fun coming stateside. For now, all we have are the individual pictures of each car. More will come once they officially break cover at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January. Related video: