Mitsubishi used to be one of the most loved carmakers in the world They gave us the legendary Lancer Evolution, after all But twenty years ago, they messed up so bad that it cost them not only the Evo, but their entire company. So how did a car brand known for dominating rally and dominating the movie screen Become a failing business forced to sell themselves out? Well, it had to do with bad deals and a whole lot of lies.
But who was Mitsubishi anyways? Well, a century ago, they were the Japanese giant that did it all. Shipping and trading, boats and steam engines, trains and railcars But after the economic devastation of the second world war, Japan’s industrial giants shifted their focus to building cars For Mitsubishi though, just making cars wasn't enough By the 1960s, Mitsubishi found themselves falling behind their competitors Honda, despite being a relatively new company, was growing at a much faster pace Nissan was beginning to dominate the market alongside Toyota.
And Mitsubishi saw that it all came down to one secret weapon. Motorsports. Honda had been racing at the Isle of Man since 1954 and then Formula 1 in 1964 Nissan went to Suzuka to race at the Japan GP…in a car they named the Skyline And Mitsubishi, well they had nothing.
This was 30 years before the Lancer Evo was even an idea in their head, So getting into motorsports meant starting from scratch But, off the bat, they decided they weren't going to do it the traditional way, racing on circuits or building formula cars. No, they were going to the dirt. Mitsubishi had raced once or twice in the past, but now it was time to take it seriously They built a team, and in October of 1967, Mitsubishi entered the international rallying stage They started with the Southern Cross Rally in Australia and their weapon of choice was the Mitsubishi Colt 1000F And this little Colt placed first in the small engines class and 4th overall, The best debut Mitsubishi could have ever asked for, And from there, they were hooked.
In 1973, WRC was introduced - the world rally championship, and Mitsubishi entered with its fully prepped Galant 16l GS It had a peppy 110hp 1. 6L 4 cylinder and it was a rocket on the rally stage Mitsubishi was doing so well in rally, that they sent FIVE Lancer 1600GSRs to race in Australia And those lancers took home 1st 2nd 3rd AND 4th place at the southern cross rally. Don’t ask what happened to the fifth one.
By the 70s, mitsubishi was racing Colts, galants, and lancers on special stages all over the world And the public loved seeing the car in their driveway racing at full oppo-lock on the TV, so sales were up at Mitsu dealers But in 1973, the oil crisis struck, and Mitsubishi had to reconsider their priorities to keep the company afloat, Which meant that the Rally program, was getting axed But the itch to race never went away, and after 8 long years, Mitsubishi returned to rally in 1981. This time they would race under a new banner - RALLIART You might remember that name, it was stuck on the back of every yellow early 2000s Lancer But that brand notoriety didn't happen overnight Mitsubishi once again saw themselves playing catchup And they knew they had to go big to get back up to the top, so they totally restructured their racing program Ralliart was originally centered in Austria to be close to the rally stages…but after they kept losing, all development was moved back to Japan And well that still didn't work, When the Japan team sent out their new Lancer EX2000 turbo to compete, AUDI embarrassed them with the Quattro So it was back to drawing board So they developed the 4WD Starion, but they were too late to the party. Group B was getting sunsetted because too many people were dying, and Group A became the new class to be in.
So once again, Mitsubishi went to the lab, and their newest weapon of choice was the Galant VR4 The Galant had a 2 liter DOHC turbo 4 banger called the 4G63, and it put out over 300hp. Plus, full time 4wd and 4 wheel steering, And with Ari Vatanen appointed as their top driver, the future for Mitsubishi Ralliart looked promising Maybe even better than promising, because that Galant took home 6 WRC wins But right when things were getting good, car trends were began to shift again going into the 90s Out went the large and midsize sedans and in came small, compact, and lightweight contenders And along with that, the rally stages themselves were getting tighter, tougher and more technical. .
And well, the Galant VR4 was just too big But Mitsubishi was smart, they prepared for this with a Plan B A Plan B called the Lancer Your Plan, on the other hand, should be to call Morgan and Morgan, the sponsor of todays video! Now, the lancer had been around since the 70s, as a model between Mitsubishi’s kei cars and the larger Galant But, thanks to some smart packaging, the Ralliart engineers figured out a way to cram all of the rally-winning goodness into the smaller Lancer And in 1992, they showed the world the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution The production model came in 2 trims A more daily driver oriented GSR and the hardcore, lightweight RS At the heart of it was the same 2L 4G63. In street form it made 244hp To put that into perspective, the beloved Lancia Delta Integrale Evo made 40 less hp and was 240 pounds heavier And the rally car?
Well that was a 300hp monster. . But a good car is only half the battle, you need a driver as well, But Mitsibishi didn’t really have one.
The young superstar Tommi Makinen visited the factory that year and Mitsubishi tried their best to court him, but he told them he’d think about it. And despite Mitsubishi’s best efforts, they just couldn’t stick the landing with the new Evo. It was a fantastic machine, but their team managed just 2 podiums, and placed last in the championship.
There was potential there, but it needed to be unlocked. And well, there was a reason the Lancer was called the Evolution, Mitsubishi went straight back to R&D and started improving the car. And just a year later came the Evo 2!
In street trim, the Evo 2 saw a lighter front sway bar, a larger spoiler and wider tires. With power turned up to 252 hp But the coolest part was arguably those classic OZ 5 spokes One the rally stage, the Evo 2 made its debut in Greece where it placed second A huge improvement from last year out the gate, but second is just first loser, So they sent that same car to the Asia-Pacific rally where Kenneth Eriksson muscled that Evo 2 to first place, a huge win for the entire program. But remember in 1992, when Mitsubishi told Tommi Makinen they’d give him a seat?
Well, he decided to take them up on it. So in 1995, Tommi Makinen was given the greenlight to be the lead driver for the team. And at the Sweden Rally, Erikkson and Makinen claimed the Lancer’s first overall WRC victory by taking 1st and 2nd at the event - a feat that would be just be a sneak peek of Tommi Makinen's future And just one year after the Evo 2 made its debut, the Evo 3 was already knocking down the door The third of the Evo trilogy still had the 4G63, but now put out 270hp on the road, alongside a more aggressive aero setup On the racing side, the evo 3 had a little something called Anti Lag And it would first appear at the Tour de Corse in France with none other than Tomi Makinen behind the wheel.
But it didn’t win that race. In fact, the Evo 3 wouldn't see success until 5 rounds later in Australia where Eriksson took first overall, It was enough to give Mitsu second place overall in the manufacturer's title but, they were a long way from winning it all, And that’s thanks to Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz at Subaru, Mitsubishi’s sworn enemies. So, the Ralliart program needed to be pushed further, and a year later in 1996, the Evo 4 would take the furthest leap yet The Lancer platform was completely redesigned, so naturally the Evo 4 saw big changes.
Huge changes in fact. Because for the first time ever Mitsubishi took out the 4G63 engine! and then they turned it 180 degrees and put it back in ……….
Okay yes it was the same engine, but rotating it meant they could better fight the torque steer issues that drivers were complaining about with the previous models It now made “276hp” thanks to the Japanese Gentleman’s Agreement But the real improvement was something far more nerdy… Mitsubishi's new Active Yaw Control system was a standard option on GSR models And it used steering, throttle, and G-sensors to computer-control torque split to the rear wheels At the time, this was space-age technology. But along with the new tech, the Evo 4 got heavier. And the added weight and complexity had people wondering if Mitsubishi lost the plot in their rally mission.
But those people weren’t going to find out this year. WRC was yet again on changing the rule book, and switching to a new class called “WR Cars” so Mitsubishi decided to stick with the Evo 3 for 1996 while they figured out the new regulations. Only Subaru bested them last year, so they were the target once again.
Plus, they poached Richard Burns from Subaru and put him alongside Tommi Makinen So now, with a team of promising talent and a proven car, all that was left was to race, Tommi absolutely drove his heart out in that season He took 1st at the Swedish rally, first at Safari rally, first in Argentina, The Lancer Evo was absolutely firing on all cylinders and Tommi was on the drive of his life. Then he took First at 1000 lakes in Finland, first in Australia. .
And then 2nd at acropolis But who cares about Acropolis! Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and Tommi Makinen had finally done it. .
First in the WRC Drvers championship Mitsubishi, for the first time in 30 years, was on top of the world. No longer in the shadows of toyota, nissan, subaru or anyone else Come 1997, much of the racing team transitioned to the new “WR” car regulations, but Mitsubishi raced one more year with group A rules as allowed. This time they were using the Evo 4, and if the Evo 3 was up to snuff, then the 4 was a cheat code.
Makinen ended up taking 4 wins - portugal, catalunya, argentina and finland. But it was catalunya that stood out to the fans. Catalunya was an asphalt rally, not dirt.
And winning at catalunya for the first time meant that the Evo was just as capable on the street as it was the dirt It wasn’t just proof that the Evo could race anywhere, it was proof that Mitsubishi’s technology was the best in the world. And for the second year in a row, Tommi Makinen and Mitsubishi took first place overall In the wise words of drake, they went “back to back like Jordan 96-97” Mitsubishi was unstoppable. Tommi was unstoppable.
. And the lancer Evo? It was an icon now.
Subaru and Toyota had their moments in rally, but now there was a new frontrunner in the game and everybody wanted an Evo. But if the rally dominance wasn’t enough for you, maybe you could be convinced, by Jackie Chan… In the 70s, Jackie Chan signed a deal with Mitsubishi. They would pay him, and he would feature Mitsubishis in his films And by a stroke of luck, both Mitsubishi and Jackie Chan were both at the top of their games in the 90s.
In 1995, Jackie's film Thunderbolt took over the car scene. It was fast and furious before fast and furious Not only did he costar with a badass Evo 3 but his character in the movie was a Mitsubishi employee! And then there's the ever viral Evo scene in his 1998 movie “Who Am I” Everything aligned for Mitsubishi, and anybody who could get a Evo, tried to get one.
But that was the caveat– anyone who can get one The Lancer Evo was only available in certain markets, first just japan and then a few made its way over to Europe And the Evo V was no exception. But if you did live in Japan, well you got an: Adjustable wing, now made of Aluminum A widebody with wider wheels and tires and now Brembos from factory if you got the GSR model And all that meant that the Evo was still at the top of the rally game Tommi and Richard remained the main drivers. And well, Makinen won again, making it a historic 3-peat with Ralliart, outdoing subaru toyota and ford The next year in 99, we got the Evo 6 It was mostly just tweaks of the formula, along with a new RS2 trim level But nobody really cared…because in 2000, Mitsubishi came out with the best Evo yet The Tommy Makinen Edition The car was themed around Tommi’s WRC success with a new front bumper and aero Under the hood was a titanium-wheel turbo, designed for better response The suspension was upgraded and specially tuned And if you were lucky, you could get the car in a livery that paid tribute Tommis Ralliart car ‘ The Tommi Makinen edition was such a big jump over the Evo 6 that it was unofficially coined the Evo 6.
5 And keep in mind, that this was 2000…a year after tommi’s 3 peat Oh sorry, did I say 3-peat? I meant 4-PEAT! Because Tommi won the WRC drivers title AGAIN in 1999, Mitsubishi was on an unstoppable tear at this point, and it was thanks to Tommi and the Lancer Evo But all good things must come to an end it seems, because it was here that things took a turn for Mitsubishi In 2001, the transition period from group A to WR cars was set to end This meant that the old group A cars were no longer allowed to compete And since the Evos that were winning were all Group A, it wasn't until now that Mitsubishi had to think about the next generation for ralliart cars In fact, when Mitsubishi debuted the WR rally, it technically only had about a year of R&D in it And unfortunately it just wasn't enough.
The WR-Class Evo debuted at the Sanremo Rally halfway into the season and Makinen just couldn't outdrive the car's shortcomings Tommi Makinen ended up taking 3rd that year in the drivers championship, and that was mostly due to the fact that he raced the first half of the season in the old car The WR car just wasn't enough - and in a cruel twist, it was Richard burns that took home the drivers championship, but driving a Subaru And MItsubishi never truly recovered from there The new WR-Class rules were all it took to end Mitsubishi's reign They didn't stop making consumer cars though - in 2001, the Evo 7 was introduced And since WRC was no longer in the cards, Mitsubishi had freedom to do what they want, The Evo 7 was based off of the Lancer Cedia, which was not a lightweight compact car. Which meant, this was the fattest of the 7 Evos so far. Torque was bumped up 284 lbft through a new active center diff and LSD while hp was still at the agreed 276 But there was one thing that confirmed to people that the Evo was losing its identity, the Evo 7 offered with an automatic transmission They called it the Evo GTA or grand touring Automatic, and it was a slushbox as bad as you might expect for 2001 All the while, the Ralliart team was still sorting out its identity issues In the past, all of the components of the rally built race cars were designed in Okazaki, Japan at the Mitsubishi plant But with the new rules, it was agreed that Ralliart Europe would share the development load with Japan The idea was to shorten the time from development to final product And with this new structure, Mitsubishi ralliart debuted their new racecar at the 9th round of the year in Finland, Aaaand, the car sucked.
The car came in 8th in Finland. Their best driver scored TWO points for the entire year… and it wasnt Tommi, Tommi went to the dark side to race for Subaru in 2002. Imagine making a Tommi Makinen edition Evo and then letting him go to subaru The following year in 2003, Mitsubishi took a step back from rally.
They said they needed more time to focus on developing a car that fit their expectations, And they promised to return in a year. 2003 was also the year of the Evo 8 debut And this one was groundbreaking Because finally, for the first time ever, the lancer Evo was making its way to showrooms in America! And it was all thanks to Subaru!
Subaru was doing so well with sales in America after announcing the WRX, that Mitsubishi realized there was a market for the Evo Thanks Subaru! The Evo 8 was the first Evo to be developed on the Nurburgring, It came with Enkei wheels, Brembo brakes and bilstein shocks alongside a 5 speed manual mated to the 4g63 And that was originally the only plan for the Evo 8 in the US But by 2005, the Evo 8 sold so well, that Mitsubishi expanded it to 5 different trim levels! The top of which was the MR.
MR stood for Mitsubishi Racing and for the Evo 8 it meant an aluminum roof, bespoke bilstein shocks, forged BBS wheels and a new engine tune that made more torque. The car was truly a hit. And recent prices show how appreciated the Evo 8 is in America today But the same success couldn’t be said for the rally team.
After the hiatus in 2003 they introduced the WRC04 And this rally car was the product of a new Mitsubishi Entity, MMSP, Mitsubishi Motor Sports. MMSP was now responsible for all global motorsports, and their one goal was to bring Mitsu back to their former glory But the WRC04 car fell short. The extra time away to develop the car was overshadowed by the constant restructuring of the brand It was such a disaster, that Mitsubishi backed out before the WRC season even ended, Citing that they needed to go back to the drawing board once again and prepare a better car.
On the showroom side, the next generation of Evo was the Evo 9, announced in March of 2005. And The Evo 9s headline was its new Mivec technology This was VTECs younger cousin to put it nicely And with MIVEC, power output was finally bumped up to 287hp and 289ftlbs And now they came with launch control from the factory. Sure it was implemented mostly to protect the drivetrain from grenading after your 7k clutch dumps, but it was a win-win for everyone Well almost, because even though the Evo 9 was pretty great, Mitsubishi's sales were not.
They were suffering across the entire showroom floor. So much so that they ran the 0-0-0 campaign. 0% down, 0% interest, and $0 monthly payments for the first 12 months.
And well, sales skyrocketed! But guess what happened as soon as those 12 months were over… Tons of buyers defaulted on payments right away and Mitsubishi was left with a bunch of used vehicles they never got paid for… By the end of 2005, only 124,000 cars were sold across the entire brand! And as a result of the 0-0-0 campaign, Mitsubishi’s credit operation was forced to pay $454 million to make up for the losses Mitsubishi, as a carmaker, was in deep doo doo And well that was not any better for the rally team.
The WRC05 car made its introduction at the season opener in Monte Carlo, and to much shock it actually finished on the podium in third! And well… that was the only podium until the very last race where the car got 2nd in Australia. And it was a great metaphor for Mitsubishi as a whole.
They showed glimmers of hope. Somewhere deep in the company was the DNA of a competitive vehicle. But when they put it all together, the end result just wasn’t what it used to be in the 90s.
And In December, Mitsubishi announced that they were going to suspend all future participation in WRC while they focused on the “management” of company resources. Mitsubishi had given up on rally for good. And around the same time, the first Mitsubishi scandal broke loose Mitsubishi had just confessed to a 30 year cover up of defective vehicles.
Basically, they knew of dozens of issues in their cars that required large scale recalls - and they only acted on about 4 of them Investigations concluded that Mitsubishi systematically hid defects in over 800,000 vehicles! the same kind of defects that would cause a 220 pound mitsubishi bus wheel to fall off of a moving bus and kill someone in another car… And the biggest scandal, they made an Evo 9 wagon and didn’t bring it to america! !
And then there was the Evo X. . oh god the evo x This where I’m supposed to go through specs and trims and tell you all about the X, but man its hard It didn't even get a 4G63… The car was built for 9 years.
There were auto, manuals, MRs, GSRs, Cop cars, blah blah blah It's hard to be enthusiastic about a car from a brand that killed its own soul and identity and then even lied to its customers It's not that I hate Evo Xs, it's that I hate how the Evo story ends… Mitsubishi was floundering. They began to partner with any and everyone that can help them stay afloat But it wasn't working In 2008, mitsubishi closed its australia plant, shutting down production for australia and new zealand In 2012, they announced that their plant in western europe was closing By 2015, north american production ended with the closing of their illinois plant In 2016… The Evo was officially discontinued. But it was another scandal that made the headlines, when their partner Nissan, found discrepancies in Mitsubishi's fuel economy claims Mitsubishi admitted that they had been giving incorrect fuel consumption numbers from 2002 onwards, using inaccurate test methods And this was the straw that broke the camel's back The automotive press to Mitsubishi to town over this, and they had lost whatever little consumer trust they had.
Mitsubishi was officially in a death spiral And it was Nissan that swept in to try and save them from imminent bankruptcy By paying $2. 2 billion for a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Today, 7 years later, the showroom floor at a Mitsu dealership is unrecognizable to enthusiasts of the brand This was the company that had not only the Lancer Evo, but Pajero Evos, 3000GTs, Eclipses, FTOs And now, all they sell is the Mirage, the Eclipse Cross abomination, and the Outlander. Cheap, middling, grocery getters No sports cars, no soul.
And despite all the motorsports heritage, the ragtag rally wins and the action movie screen time, It seems now, Mitsubishi is well and truly dead. Thanks for watching Don’t forget to subscribe and buy our merch to support the channel!
