Mitsubishi introduces latest Evo

If it weren’t for the giant wing, the nondescript gray Mitsubishi Lancer might well have drawn no more attention than any other compact commuter car.

But there it was, towering above the tail end of the four-door sedan, piquing the interest of the knowing and unknowing alike.

To the enthusiasts who encountered the car on the open road, the wing signaled the presence of the very special, relatively rare Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX SE — a near clone of cars that the Japanese manufacturer campaigns in the World Rally Championship.

To the rest of the folks who passed by in a few mall parking lots, well, I couldn’t actually tell if they were impressed by the sheer audacity of that wing or if they were simply amused at the sight of what appeared to be some gray-haired old goat maneuvering (OK, struggling) to get over the rigid Recaro seat bolsters on his way in and out of the car.

Whatever the reaction, I’m pretty certain that all got the message this was not an everyday car designed and built for the ordinary driver.

In fact, the Evo is an unforgiving, hard-edged, brutally fast sedan that was conceived and constructed for a narrow, almost cultlike segment of the automotive market.

Maurice Durand, Mitsubishi product communications manager, has the statistics. He identified the typical buyer as a college-educated, 28-to-38-year-old male with an income in the $60,000 to $80,000 range.

“The Evo is for someone with an awareness of motor sports and enthusiast driving,” he explained. “A lot of people buy them as a second, or even a third car. Some enthusiasts use them as daily drivers and then enter them in weekend competition.”

Obviously, the most important demographics cited by Mr. Durand do not fit my profile, a fact I was able to confirm after only a few miles behind the wheel.

This is not the car for the weak of kidney. It is engineered to survive crater-size potholes at high speeds, twisting and bending over severely uneven terrain, and sudden, sharp turns at high speeds on rough, unpaved dirt and gravel. All of this I am certain it does superbly.

I am also certain that ride comfort appeared near the bottom, if at all, on the list of priorities. All potholes are conquered rudely and without pity for the passengers. Even tar strips and other minor road imperfections are telegraphed harshly into the cabin. It seemed at first as if the builders had forgotten to install the shock absorbers — and the springs.

Fortunately, time has a way of putting things into proper perspective.

So, it wasn’t too long before I understood that this car’s overall competence would have been seriously diminished if compromises had been engineered into it to attract an older, more comfort-oriented buyer such as myself.

When that happened, the issue of ride quality slipped not so quietly into the background and I was able to concentrate more on the truly awesome performance that has been built into the Evo IX, the last of a unique breed.

This car, this Lancer of all things, can embarrass some of the fastest cars on the road and it does it with a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine.

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