Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV | High Mile Club
Driven and enjoyed for 30 years - now ready for 30 more
Nobody can really fail to have noticed the prices now attached to the best rally reps. From Sport Quattro to Subaru, it can almost feel like the sky’s the limit, as younger Gen Xers and the millennials who grew up loving these cars now have a chance to acquire them (we’re still waiting for our opportunity). Particularly when it comes to Evos and Imprezas: if it’s a UK car, low mileage and unmodified, or a special edition, then it looks like a great time to be selling them.
Which, by association, makes it trickier to be a buyer. These are cars that are all about driver reward, never better than when driven as hard as possible. But if it cost twice the new price to buy, are you really going to be flinging your favourite rally rep at a wet and bumpy B road? This applies doubly to an Evo or Impreza; even bimbling around Bicester Motion in a pair was a rare treat not so long ago. There’s a case to be made for both as must-own enthusiast propositions - they’re that good. So what to do, then, if you want an authentic rally rep experience without a huge outlay? As always with these kinds of scenarios, it calls for thinking a bit differently. If the premium is there for UK-supplied, low-mileage, unmodified Evos and Imprezas, what do we go for? A higher mileage, 400hp import - exactly.
While the later Evos will always have the additional appeal of being official cars here, there’s plenty about the earlier versions that will be very recognisable: lightweight agility, loads of turbocharged power, and a four-wheel-drive system configured with fun in mind. There’s a reason they’re called Evolutions, after all; each new one saw incremental changes, rather than wholesale reinvention.
This IV can claim proper rally pedigree, too - it wasn’t just a VI that Tommi won a WRC in. It was just the only one that spawned a special edition. The 1997 championship was won in an Evo that looked an awful lot like this one. Interestingly, this Evo IV was imported to the UK all the way back in 2004, when Mitsubishi still sold new VIIIs. It’s been with the current owner since 2011.
In that time, the engine has been rebuilt, with Mahle pistons, an Evo IX turbo and a Syvec ECU, for 400hp; there’s a stronger clutch to manage that (and a bigger fuel tank to supply it), plus BC Racing suspension and a roll cage. The oh-so-'90s Recaro seat trim remains unchanged, which is great to see. Probably an untouched one would command more, but there’s a reason why so many of these cars are modified: they’re even more fun with extra power. So enjoy that.
This is never going to be a concours-grade Evo. Repairs have been undertaken to address the dreaded issue of oxidisation, although as ever it's an ongoing concern with a 30-year-old import showing 170k. Which it scrubs up more than alright for - thank a recent respray for that. With a cambelt change last year as well, everything is set to enjoy this Evo absolutely as intended. The dedicated could lavish some more care on it and make it really special, though we’d imagine the fun behind the wheel might be too much of a distraction. After all, that’s the real reason why we love this type of car, right?
Why anyone would want a UK supplied Impreza over a JDM one per the article is beyond me. The P1 is the most desirable of the UK models (ignoring the 22B), but even that is bettered by the JDM only STI 5/6.
Remember this will still only do around 500 yards to the gallon and need servicing every other Tuesday
Absolutely worth it though
I remember being shocked by the MPG and servicing intervals when I had the 6s and 8s, oh so worth it though Remember this will still only do around 500 yards to the gallon and need servicing every other Tuesday
Absolutely worth it though
I remember being shocked by the MPG and servicing intervals when I had the 6s and 8s, oh so worth it though Just did everything really really well while making you feel special.
Comfortable too.
Drove from Lancaster to Milan and back again after three weeks of blasting around the Alps. Very little on the road at the time could touch it as soon as the roads got difficult.
Had it serviced before the trip, and three weeks later, need another
Remember this will still only do around 500 yards to the gallon and need servicing every other Tuesday
Absolutely worth it though
See quote from sales spiel, below:
“Service invoices as follows: Oct 2012, Oct 2013, Oct 2014, Sep 2016, Oct 2018, Oct 2019, Jul 2025”
Sweet.
More refine than the Imprezza even my wife liked driving mine. I had a I, III and V. Had a chance to buy a VI, but went down the X5 route, needed a bigger car. Looking back now, wish I had bought the 6.
Back then I had an E 28 M5, that needed a timing chain, the BMW garage quoted me £5000 to do the work. A friend was emigrating to Australia and he had an Evo I for sale. I had never been in the car and not see any others on the road, it was 1997. So his sale pitch was if I liked fast cars I would love this...he took me for a ride....After 10 mins I was hooked and bought the car there and then for the full price of £9000 and yes it was an import, had only been in the UK for 14 months, (The E28 M5 was put away in my garage). I did not even try to knock him down, I wanted this car soooo much, the acceleration was unbelievable, it stuck to the road like glue and the brakes where phenomenal. This was back when no one knew what it was and I was forever picking on cosworth sierra's. My evo was standard at 245bhp, with 0 to 60 just under 5 seconds, I even took off the 3in exhaust putting a standard Evo version back on the car to give more stealth. It was very quiet after that. The only upgrade I did was a better dump valve. After it was stolen when I attended the Birmingham Dive Show (The one down side of the Mitsubishi Evo as it became better known) I then bought an Evo III standard with 267 BHP which I wrote off, and still say that tree was not there when I looked before backing up!!!! (It didn't take much, Insurance companies back then did not like having these cars fixed when body work was involved)
I looked at the MK IV but at that stage the IV had the upgraded engine at 280BHP and for some reason the engine had been turned round 180 degrees. These cars were well known for having all kinds of drive train and axle problems so I bought a Mk V. This was one of the best versions along with the 6. I had this one booted up to 330BHP, any more than that and the standard con-rods would turn to chocolate lol. I ran the Mk V for 7 years before selling it and to this day I wish I had gone on to buy the Mk VI But I needed a big 4x4 and had opted for a BMW X5 4.8is which also made me smile when I hit the loud pedal and still does today (I also still got the M5 E28, sitting in the garage I put it in when I bought the Evo Mk I
Remember this will still only do around 500 yards to the gallon and need servicing every other Tuesday
Absolutely worth it though
Sweet.
Yes, there's an argument to be made for buying the "least" desirable Evo because it'll be cheaper than a 400bhp 8/9, but there's a reason the 4s aren't desirable. Crank walk, thrust bearings etc. But potentially that's all been addressed here.
That said, stock Evos need servicing religiously to avoid issues and that's even more so when you get to 400bhp on any of them.
No such thing as a "cheap" Evo but this might be appealing for someone who specifically likes the looks of that front end and can verify all the work and servicing has been done to the right standard. Still going to need a decent amount of looking after but it won't be ruinous if it's all up to scratch.
The AYC needed care. I had to replace mine.
The AYC needed care. I had to replace mine.
Still 1K though.
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