The blokes across the pond in “Jolly Old England” just got some serious bragging rights; namely the Mitsubishi Evolution X FQ-400.
The new FQ sports a more intense 4B11 powerplant, belting out 403 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 387 lbs-ft of torque at 3,500 rpm. The FQ is road-going rocketry screaming from the launch pad to 62 mph (100km/h) in an impressive 3.8 seconds. Full zoom is an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.
The good lads of London, Liverpool and Brighton will drop the hammer on a muscled up 4B11 sporting a larger turbo, a better flowing intercooler, enhanced fuel system, throaty center-exit exhaust and a substantially reprogrammed ECU that makes all the magic happen.
The Evo’s strength is its balance of power, traction and handling. The FQ pumps up the volume with a wider track and lowered suspension featuring Eibach springs and Bilstein shock absorbers. Rolling stock consists of lightweight 18-inch, nine spoke alloys wrapped with Toyo Proxes R1R tires. Huge six-piston brakes put a halt to the show.
The Mitsubishi looks the part with a carbon fiber/composite front bumper, side skirts, and a re-styled rear bumper with a carbon fiber diffuser. Driving the aero point home is a Gurney strip on the rear spoiler and a set of the infamous Evo vortex generators on the roof. Ducting is also a big styling cue as the hood is heavily vented hood to feed plenty of cool air to the engine and the side skirts have brake cooling ducts incorporated into their design.
The FQ-400 is rarified air indeed, capable of mind altering acceleration and retina-popping g-force generation but there is a silver lining for those of us in the North American market…the price is steep, £49,999 in the UK, that’s $79,843. Whoa. While we can’t have one it is inspiring to see the extreme capabilities of the Evo X platform.