The End of a Rivalry: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR and Subaru WRX STI - Automobile
Both came to life in the early 1990s, when Mitsubishi and Subaru competed in the World Rally Championship, and have nipped at each other’s heels ever since. The two were cut from the same gritty, oil-stained cloth and launched at about the same time after Mitsubishi and Subaru tossed out their big, heavy, all-wheel-drive WRC cars -- the Galant and the Legacy, respectively -- in favor of smaller,... To both meet Group A homologation requirements and build up the new Lancer’s rally-tough persona, Mitsubishi quickly launched the Evolution, a 250-hp production version of the Lancer. Subaru did a rapid-fire series of updates to the STI’s blueprinted flat-four until it made 275 hp and 235 lb-ft of torque, making it more than a match for the Mitsubishi. Scottish rally hero Colin McRae soon climbed into an STI rally car, Finnish shoe Tommi Mäkinen strapped into an Evo, and the two created a spectacle that helped overseas sales blossom. The brashness comes to America The fight finally trickled into America in 2001 when Subaru debuted its 227-hp Impreza WRX. Mitsubishi put the Lancer on sale the following year and then, in 2003, just days after it debuted its 271-hp, eighth-generation Lancer Evolution at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Subaru revealed its. Source: www.automobilemag.com
