Another month, another power-crazed Mitsubishi Evo. This time it’s the most extreme Evo X to date, sporting the eponymous FQ400 badge. That loosely refers to the 403 brake horsepower on tap and the fact that this Evo is effing quick.
Mitsubishi claims the Evo X FQ400 will dispatch 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds and top 155mph before the limiter cuts in.
So the FQ400 is supercar quick. How do they do it?
Take one stock 2.0-litre MIVEC engine and send it to boot camp. The FQ400 develops a rather surprising 202bhp per litre, thanks to new high-flow fuel injectors, beefier turbo and more efficient intercooler. It also breathes through a three-inch diameter stainless steel exhaust.
To prevent the ECU throwing a wobbly and calling the nearest IT helpdesk, the electronics are recalibrated to deploy the 387lb ft of twist from 3500rpm.
Anorak’s guide: how to spot an Evo X FQ400
Mitsubishi says it’s been inspired by the Evo VI – so look out for the louvred bonnet and composite front bumper sporting carbonfibre leading edges integrated into the spoiler. Ride height is dropped by 30mm at the front, while skirts and a carbonfibre rear diffuser complete the visual makeover.
It’s not all show and no go, says the UK distributor responsible for the FQ400. Eighteen-inch alloys sport semi-slick Toyo tyres and the Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks are uprated to cope with the velocities this FQ can create.
CAR’s take?
The FQ400 will find plenty of critics – people who’ll slam the £49,999 price tag and naff detailing such as the carbonfibre gearknob. While we’d agree that the zeitgeist has moved on from the heyday of these Subaru/Mitsubishi rally specials, there’s still something quite compelling about the potency of Ferrari-slaying oomph in a Ford Mondeo practical body.
A niche appeal supercar in drag, then.