Ask any Mitsubishi fan what their all-time favourite Evo is and the chance of them saying anything other than a Tommi Makinen Edition is close to zero. A TME just ticks all the boxes in a way that few cars can, bundling genuine rally pedigree with rarity, radical looks and a healthy dose of Gran Turismo nostalgia. Little wonder then that grown-up members of the PlayStation generation fork out extortionate amounts of money to get their hands on one.
The TME is obviously the poster child of Mitsubishi’s domination in the WRC, and it isn’t a world away from the car Mr Makinen drove to three of his four titles with the Japanese marque. The only thing is, the TME isn’t the ‘ultimate’ version of the IV-VI generation Evos, being neither the fastest nor the rarest. In fact, it doesn’t have the strongest rally link, either. If the absolute pinnacle of this era of Evo is what you’re after, then you’ll want to consider this exceptionally rare Evo VI Extreme.
As you probably know, Mitsubishi outsourced its rally operations to a British-based motorsport firm, which ran under the Ralliart name during its time in the WRC. So when Makinen started cleaning up and Mitsubishi released a special edition model is his honour, Ralliart UK decided it too wanted to get in on the festivities - and one-up the manufacturer in the process. The result was the Evo IV Extreme: a limited edition, track-honed version of the rally saloon that trumped the TME on power, exclusivity and styling. Just 26 would be made, all priced at a whopping £42,000 back in 1999 - or £10,000 more than Prodrive’s Impreza P1 was at the time.
Good job the Extreme was absolutely loaded with rally tech, then. Ralliart completely overhauled the engine with a shopping list of competition-grade parts so big that they may as well have fitted the WRC motor and called it a day; forged pistons, new con rods, high-lift cams and upgraded turbocharger components to name but a few. An output of 380hp not only marked a 100hp jump over the TME, but it also made the Extreme more powerful than the Makinen’s dominant rally car (and that’s before you take into account the upgraded ECU, throttle bodies and air filter that feature on this example).
The chassis received just as much attention, with standard Extreme’s benefitting from a limited-slip differential, a faster steering rack and AP Racing brakes. This particular car goes a little bit further with electronically adjustable Tein suspension, Cusco Racing strut braces front and rear, plus various controllers crammed into the centre console. Extreme’s came with harnesses as standard, though the Recaro buckets look to be an upgrade over the stock seats. All adds to the rally feel though, right? Not sure the two-tone body kit has aged particularly well, but the Ralliart side stickers will never not make an Evo look cool.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s a plaque on the dash signed by Tommi himself and a build number out of 26. This is number 20: a 1999-registered car with 54,595 miles on the clock and a smattering of top-drawer mods from Japan’s finest tuners. Granted, it’s not exactly a budget TME at £49,989, but then again we’re looking at probably the rarest Mitsubishi Evo in existence. Makes the famed Makinen Edition look a bit ordinary by comparison, don’t you think?
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