IF YOU WERE FEELING a bit shirty at the news that the red hot Mitsubishi Evolution X FQ-330 and FQ-360 won’t be coming to Australia, you’ll be seeing red over the even more ballistic Mitsubishi Evolution X FQ-400, announced this week for launch in the UK.
While the FQ-330 offers 242kW and 437Nm of torque, with an appropriately quick 4.4 second sprint to 100km/h, the FQ-400 weighs in at an even 300kW and 524Nm of torque.
Courtesy of those ridiculous figures, the FQ-400 delivers a blisteringly quick 3.8 second run to the ton. Top speed? An electronically-limited 250km/h.
That extra power is found thanks to some fiddling beneath the bonnet, with high-flow fuel injectors, a new turbo with low-friction bearings, strengthened thrust bearing and a high temperature turbine for increased response and reduced turbo lag.
An upgraded intercooler feeds the turbo, and a new exhaust system with 3-inch piping evacuates gasses more efficiently, while the ECU receives extensive remapping as well, courtesy of over 500 development hours.
With a wider track and lowered suspension, the FQ-400 sits on light-weight 18-inch alloy rims shod with Toyo Proxes R1R tyres, resulting, Mitsubishi says, in greater cornering response and more incisive steering.
With great power comes great braking, and the FQ-400 is no exception, utilising aerospace-grade aluminium alloys and floating sealed discs with high performance pads.
The heavily vented bonnet is joined by composite side skirts, a re-styled rear bumper with a carbon-fibre diffuser, a rear wing incorporating a gurney strip and the obligatory roof-mounted vortex generator, all managing airflow around the slippery FQ-400.
Inside, the occupants are held in place with Recaro bucket sports seats, while a FQ-400 liveried handbrake handle and carbon-fibre gear knob feature in the centre.
The depressing news, as mentioned, is that Mitsubishi Australia has no plans to bring the UK’s faster Evo range to Australia.
