Evolution VII: The car everyone wanted but never got

"It’s on rails; it’s on rails," my grinning co-pilot exclaims, for at least the fourth time. Despite years of writing experience (currently AutoWeek’s news editor), his lexicon has failed him and those three words are the only ones his continuing driving excitement allows him to utter…

By: Bob Hall and Mike DeFord
I share his enthusiasm, for by this point in our 400-mile journey up the Pacific Coast Highway, we’ve both enjoyed stints behind the wheel of perhaps the most coveted car not currently sold in the United States, Mitsubishi’s Evolution VII.
   The "Evo," as it’s known on rally courses and Internet chat rooms around the world, is a super high-performance, all-wheel-drive version of Mitsubishi’s Lancer compact sedan. Introduced in late 1991 as a 1992 model, the car became the leader of the burgeoning sport compact market segment, first in Japan, then the rest of the world. At the time, no one produced cars that could be taken straight from the dealers’ showroom to the racetrack and be competitive. The Lancer Evo was the first, soon to be followed by the Subaru Impreza WRX and the Nissan Skyline GT-R (which is still not available to the United States).
   There have been many variations of the Evo. Each brought new and trick refinements plus cutting-edge styling. In 1995 Mitsubishi decided to get serious with its Evo racing efforts. It turned to its in-house performance division, RalliArt, to build a car that could win the World Rally Championship. RalliArt is to Mitsubishi what SVT is to Ford. They are the hardcore gearheads, the guys who want to be faster than anyone else. In 1996 they succeeded and took the WRC title with Tommi Makinen as the driver of the new Evo IV.
   But one championship was not enough; they wanted more, so Makinen took the honors again in 1997 behind the wheel of an Evo IV. In 1998 Mitsubishi released the Evo V, with aggressive refinements to an already capable chassis. Championships followed in ’98 and ’99. RalliArt and Mitsubishi were at the top of their game, when in ’99 their star driver was awarded with his own signature version of the Evo VI. The Makinen Edition featured the standard Evo tricks (if you can call an Evo "standard"), plus styling cues taken right from the champion’s car.
   With Mitsubishi’s upcoming release of the Evo VIII in the United States, the company decided to pull out of the World Rally Championship (which doesn’t have an event in North America) and focus on the Sports Car Club of America’s Pro Rally series. RalliArt and Mitsubishi will have a factory team fielded by one of the most respected and well-known teams in the United States, Vermont Sports Car. The team will run two cars at all events on the schedule. The Evo cars are no stranger to the SCCA series. With the car performing so strongly in the WRC, many private teams have imported the Evo and done very well with cars dating as far back as the original ’92 Evo I.
   The new Evo has a lot to live up to; it has a history like few others, on-track or off. The only true U.S. comparison would be the Corvette, and honestly the Evo makes the Chevy look like a toy. Not because it’s a better car, but because it was built for one purpose — to win races.
   To return to our Evo VII driving experiences: You know this car is serious about performance on all surfaces when it gives you "tarmac," "gravel" and "snow" settings. Such are the benefits of Evo’s ACD, or Active Center Differential, which maximizes transfer of 270-plus horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque to a degree that other vehicles can only dream about.
   Power and traction on demand is what the Evo is all about. Fitting its race car heritage, Evo VII’s power delivery isn’t passenger car-like: immediate, yes; silky smooth, no. When you stomp the throttle, especially on a hard down-shift, you’ll feel the ACD kick in beneath you. You feel the power and traction transfer right up through the very supportive but not overly padded seats.
   Our incredibly beautiful day beside the Pacific offers no traction challenges beyond a few patches of irregular pavement and lots of curves, hills and low-speed switchbacks. The Evo laughs at such trivialities. Only traffic and the driver’s skill limits our speed as we negotiate them.
   This stretch of Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1 for most of its length) provides as much driving fun as a public road can provide. And the scenery, in a word, is stunning. If you’re among the fortunate few who will own the Evo VIII, which is scheduled for dealers in early February, nirvana awaits you along the California coast.
For more on the automotive hobby, visit Carlisle Events at www.carsatcarlisle.com.