Ultimate Evo

New FQ-400 will be fastest Evo ever

By SiMan / Tuesday, 2 December 2008 / Loading comments

It may look familiar, but the canny-eyed among you will notice some (relatively) subtle differences on this Evo X. And these extra furrows and intakes are not just for show; this is the new FQ-400 concept developed by Mitsubishi UK with ADR motorsport, the company who build and maintain their BRC (British Rally Championship) rally cars, and will be the most powerful Evo to date.

The car is exclusively designed for the UK market, and like the previous FQ-400 (based on the Evo VIII) it will produce around 405bhp. But this time it has an extra 45lb ft of torque, bringing the figure from 355 to a mountain-moving 400 lb ft. And unlike the previous flagship FQ (rumoured to stand for 'f****g quick'), the new model will do away with the troublesome racing clutch in favour of a more comfortable road jobbie and a standard 5-speed manual gearbox.

0-60mph is dispatched in 3.5 seconds according to Autocar, and top speed is once again limited to 155mph. However that hike in torque should mean considerable improvements to midrange acceleration, as well as making that power more usable throughout the rev-range. This means that the car should not only be faster, but also easier to drive than its uber-hardcore predecessor.

Helping to reign in all that power is an improved aerodynamic package. There's hardly a square-inch of bodywork without some sort of duct or fin, and this latest Evo gets tweaked 'Vortex Generator' fins on the lip of the roof and new slots in the bodywork to direct air onto the brakes. The brakes themselves get an upgrade too, with new 6-pot callipers sitting behind new tasty-looking 18inch alloys. The other significant change is a new, huge single exhaust to replace the twin pipes on the rest of the Evo range.

All this comes at a price, though. At a predicted £45-£50,000, the most powerful Evo yet will also be the most expensive - and will stroll straight into M3 territory. The BMW carries an extra 10bhp, but with 'only' 295lb ft of torque compared with the FQ's mighty 400, it is sure to be a close battle - particularly if Mitsubishi can give this Evo the everyday driveability that the old FQ-400 lacked.

Only 100 examples of the FQ-400 are currently planned, and will formally meet the world some time in 2009.

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Mitsubishi are clearly in a rallying mood at the moment, as today official pictures have been released of the upcoming Ralliart version of the new Colt that we spotted at the Paris motorshow earlier this year. We imagine the pictures below of the new ‘mini-Evo’ will invoke one-or-two strong opinions…