Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution FQ-400 - the fastest EVO ever

For the last couple of generations of the Lancer Evolution, Mitsubishi Motors UK has been churning out even faster versions of this road going rally car in the form of the FQ models. Their latest launch, the FQ-400, based on the new Evolution X, takes the crown of the fastest Evo ever produced.

The real world isn't really a race track. It's a place where the roads are no wider than a single truck, where the turns are tighter than a gymnast's leotards and where surfaces can include bumps, broken tarmac, bits of gravel and wet patches. Low slung Ferraris and Lamborghinis, fast as they may be, will generally struggle to not ground their noses on such typical B-roads.

For over one and a half decades, one car has been the true champion of country roads, faster than any other when the driving leaves the confines of the race track. The car in question is none other than the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - a car born from the rough and tumble world of the World Rally Championship, and specifically designed for near-supercar performance in the real world.

After ten evolutions of the Evolution over the last 17 years, Mitsubishi Motors UK has launched the fastest and most extreme version of this road going rally car ever produced - the FQ-400. The FQ-400's over-the-top performance, and even its name, comes from the tweaked up version of the lightweight aluminium 2.0-litre turbocharged MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control) engine under the hood, which now produces over 408 PS of power and an insane 525 Nm of torque.

And this means performance that can accelerate the car from 0 to 100km/h in a mere 3.8 seconds and rearrange all your internal organs while doing so. And the FQ-400 also becomes one of the rare inline-4 engined road-cars that actually have to be electronically limited to 250km/h. All this extra muscle is possible primarily because of race-spec high-flow fuel injectors and a higher spec hybrid turbocharger features low-friction bearings, a high temperature turbine and strengthened thrust bearing to increase response and reduce turbo lag. Of course, the gigantic turbo is backed up by an enhanced intercooler and a high-flow stainless steel exhaust system that does the job of feeding the turbo and purging hot waste gases respectively.

Of course, just going fast in a straight line isn't the Evo's philosophy and relies on the mantra of ripping your face off using high lateral Gs by going really, really fast around corners. The S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control) permanent four-wheel drive system in conjunction with the Active Stability Control, Active Centre Differential, Active Yaw Control and Sport ABS that give the Evo superb cornering performance stay pretty much the same on the FQ-400 model, but are more than up to the job of handling all the extra horsepower and speed.

Reading a list of tweaks and mods on the bone-stock FQ-400 is akin to reading a pro-tuner's Christmas wish list. And the goodies that Santa Clause has delivered on this car straight out of the factory include wider track and lowered suspension made possible using Bilstein shock absorbers with Eibach springs, lightweight 18-inch nine spoke alloy wheels shod with Toyo Proxes R1R tyres and an Alcon braking system which uses aerospace grade aluminium alloys and a floating sealed disc grabbed by high performance pads.

As if the current shark-nose Evo design wasn't aggressive enough, the FQ-400 wears a few more rally-car clothes and bears striking resemblances to the styling cues of the legendary Evolution VI. But the 'go-faster' bits aren’t all show and no go. The light weight composite front bumper incorporating Mitsubishi's trademark 'Jet Fighter' grille features carbon-fibre elements on its leading edges to regulate airflow over the front of the car, while a heavily vented hood helps to keep the high-performance engine cool under the extreme stresses. Composite side skirts, a carbon-fibre rear diffuser, a large rear wing with a gurney strip and roof mounted 'shark-fin' vortex generators all do the job of channeling air over the rear of the car to keep it on the straight and narrow.

The FQ-400 doesn't compromise on safety either, as the car has received the highest possible five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. The no-compromise theme follows on the insides with Recaro bucket sports seats, an FQ-400 liveried handbrake, a carbon-fibre gear knob, Bluetooth hands-free telephone connection, a CD-tuner with a 30 GB hard drive, DVD satellite navigation and privacy glass.

Performance like a supercar, all the practicality of a high-end four door saloon combined with the ability to handle nearly everything that real-world roads can throw at it - this is the philosophy of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution FQ-400. Truly an all-round performer!