Mitsubishi Evo, a Japanese Classic?

[reddiesel]

We never seem to give much coverage to Japanese Performance Cars of the classic variety and at the ripe old age of 62 I seem to be looking at them more and more . Brought up when the first Japanese Cars started to really take hold in the UK , my old man an ex Triumph biker still mourning the demise of the Industry would label them junk . With the result prejudice took hold and I have never owned a Japanese car .

https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2728-01-N...

This is the sort of thing that appeals . Is it fair to say that bought at the right money you could enjoy it at the weekend , bring her up to scratch and escape at the end of it all without having your pants taken down . Any of you "Ford Boys" perhaps priced out of the RS marketplace ever been tempted ?

[Mark A S]

reddiesel said:

We never seem to give much coverage to Japanese Performance Cars of the classic variety and at the ripe old age of 62 I seem to be looking at them more and more . Brought up when the first Japanese Cars started to really take hold in the UK , my old man an ex Triumph biker still mourning the demise of the Industry would label them junk . With the result prejudice took hold and I have never owned a Japanese car .

https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2728-01-N...

This is the sort of thing that appeals . Is it fair to say that bought at the right money you could enjoy it at the weekend , bring her up to scratch and escape at the end of it all without having your pants taken down . Any of you "Ford Boys" perhaps priced out of the RS marketplace ever been tempted ?

Fantastic cars. Had both a 6 and an 8, both grey imports, both standard as IMO for a road car they don't really need any more. I had an Escort Cosworth from 92, the Evo's were, and i am very much a Ford fan, much better cars.

[rovermorris999]

Yes great cars and I'd imagine getting hard to find in non-rusty, non-modded condition. I'd love one although I've always leant towards Subaru, used to have an RB320 and now have a last-of-the-line Final Edition, a definite keeper.

[Heaveho]

I used to chop and change cars every couple of years until this turned up. That was about 22 years ago. I've had many things alongside it, including a GT-R35, V10 M5 etc. and honourable mentions go to the Lexus IS-F and Audi R8 V10, both of which I'd have kept in an ideal world, but when push came to shove, I let both of them go in favour of the Evo.

If all you're interested in is epic capability above all else, there's nothing like an Evo. I'm prepared to accept it's not all things to all men, but it's an absolute giant killer, and irreplaceable as far as I'm concerned.

[MattsCar]

Well the first article I saw of an EVO in Classic and Sportscar magazine was about 10 years ago, when they pitted a TM against an RB5.

I think once a car enters the slightly snobby realm of that magazine, it can be viewed as a classic.

[aeropilot]

reddiesel said:

https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2728-01-N...

This is the sort of thing that appeals . Is it fair to say that bought at the right money you could enjoy it at the weekend , bring her up to scratch and escape at the end of it all without having your pants taken down . Any of you "Ford Boys" perhaps priced out of the RS marketplace ever been tempted ?

Nope.
Far too good in a scary way for me......an ex-RS owning buddy had one nearly new back in the day, a Tommi Mak edition EVO VI in red, which from what I remember was the rarest colour. It was a proper weapon, and scary on UK roads it was so good. Running costs were epic though, he had it for a year or so before selling it for what he paid for it, and he looks back on it as another 'should have kept' looking at the prices good ones are now going for.
Just not my thing though, a Datsun 240Z is abut the only Jap car I'd consider owning, while I can truly appreciate the engineering (especially when I was rally service crew on multiple RAC Rallies running a Toyota AE86) of the more modern stuff, they are just too new for me, and I'm same age as you.

[worsy]

Never had a 6 but had an 8 FQ330 for a while. Really quick back in it's day, although the numbers these days are not impressive when compared to newer stuff. Drank Super Unleaded like no tomorrow and required a service every 4500 miles. Ruinous

[reddiesel]

"Ruinous" lol

[reddiesel]

Mark A S said:

Fantastic cars. Had both a 6 and an 8, both grey imports, both standard as IMO for a road car they don't really need any more. I had an Escort Cosworth from 92, the Evo's were, and i am very much a Ford fan, much better cars.

Comparable running costs with the Ford in standard spec ?

[killysprint]

I had a black 52 plate Evo RS2 UK standard car for 15 months, buying it when it was 6 weeks old.

Ran it as my company car replacement, did 27,000 miles in that time, was utterly reliable, servicing as someone rightly said was a pain every 4500 miles.

Was absolutely brilliant to drive, and in the same breath a total pain. A 10 gallon fuel tank and a drink problem meant 180-200 miles max on a fill. A "spirited" drive from Newcastle to Glasgow, using a full tank sealed its fate. I couldn't put up with its thirst any longer, and bought one of the last MK4 Golf r32's..... biggest car buying mistake Ive ever made.

Now I think 20 years on they rightly deserve the classic tag, as along with the Impreza they defined the era. Unfortunately as is the case, and its happening now with M3's and the like, as prices drop(ed) they fell into the lowered suspension big wheels, baked bean tin exhaust and a dodgy tune brigade so good standard cars are few and far between, and hence are starting to creep up in value. And rightly so.

Edited by killysprint on Thursday 16th October 15:21

[Mark A S]

reddiesel said:

Comparable running costs with the Ford in standard spec ?

As i used to do all my own servicing, cant really say, but i did get the Evo Diff fluid [ ayc ?? ] done every 4500ms as been mentioned. I used to change the oil in my Es Cos every 3000ms, Evo the same. I suspect in the real world the ford would be a little cheaper.

The 8 was a better road car due to its 6th O/D Gear, as above fuel tank capacity's not great especially if you drive them as intended, although i recall i got an average of 27 mpg in the 8 on a long, rather boring journey once, but that was only once

[reddiesel]

Thanks for that

[Heaveho]

Mark A S said:

As i used to do all my own servicing, cant really say, but i did get the Evo Diff fluid [ ayc ?? ] done every 4500ms as been mentioned. I used to change the oil in my Es Cos every 3000ms, Evo the same. I suspect in the real world the ford would be a little cheaper.

The 8 was a better road car due to its 6th O/D Gear, as above fuel tank capacity's not great especially if you drive them as intended, although i recall i got an average of 27 mpg in the 8 on a long, rather boring journey once, but that was only once

The only time I've ever had mpg in the high 20s was when the turbo failed in Scotland and I had to drive back with no boost!