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2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX – Road Test – Review – Automobile Magazine

2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX

N AYOGA, JAPAN There are winners and losers in every industry, and at the moment, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is very much one of the latter. Worldwide sales have plunged, the carmaker is bleeding $12 million a day, and its parent company, the Mitsubishi Group, has just gasped forward another $Five billion in rescue aid, the 2nd such stipend in less than a year.

No wonder, then, that Mitsubishi was glutton for us to sample the latest version of the Lancer Evolution, which is very much a winner, at its Okazaki proving grounds in Japan. Never mind that the two thousand six model we drove is almost identical to the current car. When you have only one vehicle in your lineup that anybody truly cares about, you work it for all it`s worth.

Mitsubishi`s evergreen 4G63 turbo four certainly is being worked for all it`s worth, gaining variable intake-valve timing in this ninth-generation Evo for an extra ten hp, up to 286, plus three extra lb-ft of torque, for 289. In very first and 2nd gears in particular, the latest Evo feels ever so slightly sprightlier, and the engine sounds marginally more refined and more modern. But the greatest differences proceed to lie inbetween the base model and the top-of-the-line MR, regardless of whether the cars are two thousand five or two thousand six iterations. (The lightweight RS also comes back for `06.) With its quicker-response Bilstein dampers; aluminum roof; six-speed manual; and shark-tooth-shaped vortex-generator aerodynamic add-ons to the roof, the MR proceeds to carve a smoother and more livable edge into the Evo`s spectacle, suggesting less understeer, more predictable bump suppression, and better overall composure. (As before, those advantages will cost an extra $5000.) Both base and MR models still boast chassis and steering that are more communicative than those of any car other than the Lotus Elise, Brembo brakes that can be hammered all day long, and more grip than a frat boy`s palm on a bottle of beer.

Other switches for two thousand six include black Alcantara inserts in the Recaro seats; a Gurney flap-which basically looks like a chunk of window molding-attached to the rear wing to increase downforce, a fresh front air dam, smoked-lens head- and taillights, and fresh Enkei wheels.

Fatter news lies ahead for the tenth-generation Evo, scheduled to arrive in two thousand seven with brand-new architecture, styling, and possibly an optional Audi-style, dual-clutch, paddle-operated transmission. With any luck, Mitsubishi`s headlines will be more favorable by then.

Engine: Turbo Two.0L DOHC I-4, two hundred eighty six hp, two hundred eighty nine lb-ft

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