A couple of years ago, it looked like the legendary Impreza versus Evo rivalry really was dead and buried in the UK. The Subaru saloon arguably returned a little too late, and the Evo actually went off sale in 2011.
Mild facelift likely; do UK buyers still want one?
But that looks all set to change. Kind of. With the
WRX STI
returning to Britain shortly as a four-door, it's perhaps no coincidence that we will now see an Evo X comeback, albeit in very small numbers.
According to Autocar, Mitsubishi will bring 40 Evo Xs here to mark 40 years of Mitsubishi in the UK. It comes following an interview with Mitsubishi's UK boss Lance Bradley, who said that the 40 cars will 'have the right standard equipment to deliver the performance we want'. Could that mean an Evo X FQ400 with even more performance? Or perhaps an FQ360 with less weight and some fancy dynamic upgrades?
We can only speculate on what the 40th anniversary Evo X will be like with no firm details at present. It's expected that it will carry a few badges and embellishments marking it out as a limited edition.
As well as the anniversary, a more favourable yen/GBP exchange rate has made the reintroduction of an Evo feasible. Presumably this will remain a factor for any future Evo models too.
We'll bring you more details on the anniversary Lancer (Evo XL perhaps?) as soon as they're available. Until then, there are over 20 Evo Xs in the classifieds. This FQ330 SST just sneaks in under £20K and this FQ360 must be one of the last registered in Britain on a 61 plate with 4,200 miles.