Mitsubishi introduces latest Evo

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

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.