Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

The Lancer Evolution X was the tenth and final chapter of Mitsubishi's rally-bred sedan, and it arrived carrying a heavy weight of expectation. For the first time in the car's history it abandoned the venerable 4G63T that had powered every previous Evolution, adopting instead an all-new aluminium unit, the 2.0-litre turbocharged 4B11T with MIVEC variable valve timing. From 2007 that engine was paired with Mitsubishi's Super All Wheel Control system, a full-time four-wheel-drive layout that used active torque vectoring to shuffle power across the axles and sharpen the car's cornering.

Power was quoted at 291 bhp with 300 lb-ft of torque in most markets, modest on paper against later rivals but delivered with the traction and immediacy that made the Evolution a giant-killer on road and rally stage. Buyers chose between two characters: the GSR with a five-speed manual, or the MR with the TC-SST twin-clutch gearbox, an early use of dual-clutch technology in an attainable performance sedan. The chassis, brakes and driveline were engineered around the all-wheel-drive hardware rather than bolted onto it, which is why the Evo X still feels planted in a way few contemporaries managed.

Mitsubishi confirmed the end of the line mid-decade, choosing to redirect its resources toward crossovers and electrified vehicles. To send the nameplate off, the company built a run of 1,000 Lancer Evolution X Final Edition cars, a commemorative farewell for a model that had spent a generation defining the affordable all-wheel-drive performance sedan. Production wound down in 2016, closing one of the last lineages of homologation-spirited road cars built for the street.