Tuesday 2nd September 2014

Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Makinen: Spotted

Perfect spec and perfect condition, this could be the best version of the best Evo around

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It's always the way with Japanese performance cars. Owners want more performance from cars that respond really well to modifying. Buyers want standard cars to see how special the cars were from the showroom and perhaps make their own tweaks. Then they have a modified version...

If you're doing few miles best make them special

As such standard versions of Gran Turismo icons tend to command really high prices as gamers grow up and clamour for the best examples. See the £50K R34 GT-R for example. Of course there are exceptions (how RX-7s of the early 90s haven't risen in value is a mystery) but typically standard iconic cars will be really sought after.

The Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition has a two fold appeal with both GT gamers and rallying fans. It was the car to beat on Special Stage Route 5 as well as actual special stages and is therefore quite a desirable thing. To some people it will look like a chavved up cab. Ignore them, heathens.

And if you want a TME, this one appears perfect. Standard UK car? Check. Red with graphics? Natch. Low miles, few owners and FSH? Hat trick. Moreover, it hasn't been so cherished that the next owner needs to be scared of using it. Number 54 has covered 38,000 miles, which means just under 3,000 miles a year. Enough for quite a few weekends away through the year, as the current keeper seems to have enjoyed.

And not a single modification. Really

The Evo X FQ-440 announced by Mitsubishi earlier this year will be the last of the conventional Evos. That sounds oxymoronic as no Evo is conventional but it seems unlikely that any future version will have a 2.0-litre turbo as its sole means of propulsion. And will rallying prove as captivating to car buyers again in the future as it was 15 years ago? The Evo VI TME is the best of the best, when Evos ruled rally stages and road tests. As an icon with the breed just about extinct the TME will surely be covetable for a while yet. £16K can't diminish much further with more diligent maintenance and use.

Probably time to mention the Subaru then. For exactly five pounds more than the Evo there's this stunning Impreza P1. A few more miles, yes, but that famous two-door Impreza shape, the WR Blue paint and again the reputation as probably the best special edition of the best era of a hugely successful rally car. Well it's this or a 22B. It ultimately comes down to whether you were a McRae or a Makinen man at the turn of the century. Either way you'll have an epic driver's car the kind of which we won't see again. Apart from on Gran Turismo.

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MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 6 TOMMI MAKINEN EDITION
Engine: 1,997cc 4-cyl turbo
Transmission: 5-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 275@2,750rpm
MPG: 23
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2001
Recorded mileage: 38,446
Price new: £32,995
Yours for: £15,995

See the original advert here.

[SteveSteveson]

As a child/teen of the 90's, who grew up playing Gran Turismo, words can't describe how much I want that car.

The Evo and Scoobie are icons for my generation. The cars only the "in the know" knew about, things you would see and smile to yourself when your parents commented about how someone had "ruined" their car and lectured friends foolish enough to do the same, and the joy of goading one to overtake you with a blast of exhaust and flutter of waste gate as it left your 1 liter leaner box in the dust.

Edited by SteveSteveson on Tuesday 2nd September 11:46