Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - Motorsports

Motorsports

The Lancer Evolution is unique among its competitors in the World Rally Championship in that it was a homologated Group A car slightly modified to be able to race competitively against, from the 1997 season onwards until the San Remo Rally in 2001, World Rally Car class cars. They were successful in the WRC Rallies from 1996–1999,thanks to the Finn Tommi Mäkinen, for clinching the driver's titles from 1996–1999, and the help of teammate Richard Burns for clinching the constructors' championship for the first, and thus far only time in 1998. The Evolution however was replaced in late 2001 by the firm's first World Rally Car, named simply the Lancer Evolution WRC, which lasted in works hands, driven by Makinen, Freddy Loix, Alister McRae and Francois Delecour until Mitsubishi took a sabbatical from the championship at the end of 2002. It was succeeded for the 2004 Monte Carlo Rally by the Lancer WRC04. Mitsubishi pulled out of the World Rally Championship after the 2005 season with the Lancer WRC05 still being driven by privateers including Italian former works driver Gigi Galli and the Swede, Daniel Carlsson, in the years following. The Lancer Evolution however still competes in the Group N category.

In some European markets, the Evolution was sold as the Mitsubishi Carisma Evolution, and indeed to this effect the works WRC team's second car in the late 1990s, usually driven by Burns and subsequently Loix, was customarily entered as a Carisma GT. Proton Motors of Malaysia raced Evolution III's, Evolution V's (most notable with Proton 1784 where Malaysian driver Karamjit Singh won the 2002 Production Car WRC) and an Evolution VII as the Proton PERT in various Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and APAC rally series.

Mitsubishi won the 2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship with a trio of Evolution X models.

Mitsubishi has recently won and made runner-up in the 2011 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.

Most recently, (2009–2011) the CT9A chassis Evolution has been dominant in Time Attack (time trials) throughout the world. Cyber Evo's CT9A chassis Lancer Evolution holds the OEM chassis record at Japan's Tsukuba Circuit for Time Attack, as well as the Australian record at Eastern Creek Raceway. Sierra Sierra Enterprise's CT9A chassis Evolution holds the U.S. Time Attack record.