Lancer Evolution III

Lancer Evolution III
Rapid development of new models was to become one of the hallmarks of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution series, the Evolution III appearing in 1995. As Mitsubishi concentrated once again on the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, the new Lancer Evolution III was thrown into competition from the first round, the Rally of Indonesia, rather than on a WRC event. While victory on its debut did not materialize, a sequence of four victories began on the third round, the Rally of Malaysia Rally, concluding with the last round in Thailand Rally. Consistently superior to its rivals, Mitsubishi collected both the Manufacturers and Drivers Championships.
With its huge rear wing reminiscent of a formula car and a purposeful front bumper, the Lancer Evolution III was styled as the ultimate rally machine. As might be imagined from its looks, down force had greatly increased but without an increase in drag, which made it an ideal rally car.

Constant development of the Type 4G63 engine first used in the Lancer EX2000, notably the Post Combustion Control System introduced on the Evolution II car, proved highly effective in improving engine response, making up for a loss of top end power brought on by the regulation air restrictor.
The Lancer Evolution III first contested the fourth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) and won on its third outing, the Rally Australia, which was also a round of the APRC. It was an amazing feat, considering that it took the Evolution II a year to achieve it first win. And 1996 would provide incontestable proof of the absolute speed of the Evolution III. In the hands of Tommi Makinen (Finland), the car won five of the nine rounds, propelling him to his first WRC title and bringing Mitsubishi a World Championship in the process.

Lancer Evolution II

Lancer Evolution II
The Lancer Evolution ended its official career with a flourish, taking second on the 1994 Safari Rally, before giving way to the Lancer Evolution II. While the original Lancer Evolution had notched up podium finishes in its first year of competition, 1993 did not bring the expected results. After various reviews, the results began to improve in the second half of the 1993 season and clearly focused development program resulted in the Lancer Evolution II.
Compared with the first generation Lancer Evolution, the new version was equipped with a larger rear spoiler, mounted at a greater angle. Stability at high speed was improved with the addition of a front chin spoiler.

The car made its first appearance on the Acropolis Rally in mid-season but this was due to the fact that Mitsubishi at the time was putting much of its effort into winning the manufacturers’ title in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and participation in the WRC was limited to the occasional entry. Nevertheless, Armin Schwarz came away with a second overall on the car's debut and on their next appearance in the Rally of New Zealand, the Lancer Evolution II's finished second and third overall, proving the soundness of the design.
In the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, the Lancer Evolution II finished second in the Manufacturers' Championship in its first season, scoring two wins in a hard-fought battle with the Subaru Legacy, but failing to win a round of the WRC. However, 1995 would see the car flower. In the second round, the Swedish Rally, the Lancer Evolution IIs were equipped with electronically controlled active 4WD systems and this allowed the car to sweep over the snow-laden landscape for a 1-2 finish and the long awaited win in the WRC. The Swedish victory was a watershed, marking the arrival of an outstanding series of Lancer Evolution rally cars, based on technology inherited from the Lancer Evolution II.

Lancer Evolution I

Lancer Evolution I
The Lancer Evolution was developed-with participation in the World Rally Championship (WRC) high on the list - went on sale in 1992 and replaced the Galant VR-4 as Mitsubishi's WRC contender from the season opener in 1993. It had been 10 years since a Lancer, in the form of the EX2000 Turbo, had taken part in the WRC. The Lancer was one size smaller than the Galant VR-4 and the 2500mm wheelbase was considered ideal for a rally car. As a result the compact car had superior turning characteristics with improved cornering performance. It attracted much attention not only within Mitsubishi, but also in the rallying world at large.
It was inevitable that the Lancer Evolution had attracted such attention. A car created specifically for WRC competition, it was a full second per kilometer faster, its Type 4G63 power plant was a jewel in the true tradition of Mitsubishi's rally engines and while newly developed as a car, its engine had evolved from generations of well-developed Mitsubishi engines.

Thus the Lancer Evolution participated in the 1993 WRC from round one, the Monte Carlo Rally. Kenneth Eriksson (Sweden) and Armin Schwarz (Germany), began promisingly, finishing in fourth and sixth overall for a double helping of points. The Lancer Evolution went on to compete in a further eight rounds that year, finishing third on the Acropolis Rally and a second on the RAC Rally, where it came close to victory. It was a clear demonstration that rapid development had made it a top-rank contender and a worthy rival to the new generation of rally cars such as the Ford Escort Cosworth and the Subaru Legacy.