The IX was already an epic Evo; then came the HKS...
Perhaps no car makes 15 years ago seem more like ancient history than the Mitsubishi Evo IX. Today, Mitsubishi UK doesn’t exist as a sales operation, only surviving to service the sorry collection of Mirages, ASXs and plug-in Outlanders that were its market offering as the death knell tolled. It’s been some fall from grace. Back in 2007/08, not only was the Evo IX probably the best Evo since the VI, there was still another one to come.
The Evo’s demise is a curious and lengthy case, and the story can’t really be done justice here - but there's no question that models like the Ford Focus RS undoubtedly proved there was still demand for aggressively turbocharged, four-wheel drive, manual gearbox'd fast cars in the years after Lancer.
By the time of the Evo IX FQ-360 by HKS, the Lancer required ever greater commitment. It was quite a lot of money, those notorious service intervals remained, and the world’s finances were teetering on the edge. But what a car. On top of the standard 360’s brilliance, the HKS added new Bilstein dampers, Eibach springs and Speedline Turini wheels, like it was a Clio Cup’s long-lost relative.
It was so good that Mitsubishi kept one for its legendary heritage fleet, and that was the car used to welcome the IX into ; everything so wonderful about the old stager was abundantly clear a decade later, its ability to make four-wheel drive fun - and work with a British B-road - still unrivalled.
Such is the revered status of late Evos that this one is for sale now at quite a bit more than it would have cost new. It’s possible even to pay £60k for a lower mileage HKS, believe it or not - they really are very, very desirable Japanese fast cars. But see above: who wants an Evo to mollycoddle? With Tommi Makinens now even more valuable, perhaps no Evo demonstrates best why this car is so loved than an FQ-360.
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