see also:
EVO Tuning Specs vs Power
EVO 9
Performance Part Power Test
Mitsubishi
EVO History and Specs
Mitsubishi EVO Buying
Guide
Mitsubishi
EVO VII RS Sprint
Mitsubishi EVO
Tuning Specialists
Advertise on StrikeEngine, it's easy & it's free - Click Here!
Last month's test of the new Evo VIII at the Bedford Autodrome was a little overshadowed by the performance of the unlikely Porsche Cayenne Turbo, but the Mitsubishi Evo's superb lap time suggested that in the contest that matters, against the new Subaru Impreza STi, the Mitsubishi has moved the game on. The Evo FQ300 lapped the West circuit a cool 2.3sec quicker than the Impreza managed (evo 053), and that was a Prodrive-massaged STi with 300bhp. Not only was the Evo quicker, it was tidy, precise and undramatic. A deeply impressive performance.
Directory Home
Mitsubishi EVO FQ300
And now Mitsubishi Motors has announced this, the 'FQ-300', a more powerful version with just over 300bhp and 300lb ft of torque. It costs £28,995, exactly £2000 more than the standard 276bhp model, and is identified by a drainpipe-like exhaust, carbon-trimmed boot spoiler, standard-fit front foglamps, and a smattering of FQ-300 badges.
Like the regular Mitsubishi Evo VIII, the FQ is effectively a Mitsubishi-approved grey import - full European Type Approved Evos aren't due until next year. For now the official UK importer, Mitsubishi Motors, has to put all its Japanese-spec Evos through Single Vehicle Approval (SVA), which includes adding a rear fog lamp and a speedo marked in mph and changing the convex door mirror glass for flat. The cars are also fully undersealed and get the same extensive warranty afforded all other Mitsubishis.
The FQ upgrade is done here in the UK and the power is essentially gained through a reprogrammed ECU and that chunky exhaust back-box. The rest is standard Evo VIII, which means a stack of premium branded hardware including Brembo brakes, Recaro seats and Enkei five-spoke alloys shod with Yokohama Advan A046s. There's also Super AYC (Super Active Yaw Control, which is said to increase the cornering limit by 10 per cent over the Evo VII), and a new Active Centre Differential (ACD) for the four-wheel-drive system - instead of a viscous coupling it's now a faster-acting and more controllable electronically actuated multi-plate clutch. Together Super AYC and the new diff give the Evo VIII a quite different feel to the VII at the limit, and we had ample opportunity to push the new car hard because the launch of the FQ was based, somewhat ironically, at the Prodrive test track.
|
StrikeEngine SEARCH ENGINE - Car Sites ONLY
|
