The Mitsubishi Lancer FQ 300-440's are catching on very fast as Modern Classic Cars

Whilst all of the Mitsubishi Evolution range, from Evolution II onwards are now attracting great interest, it is really the Evo 6, Evo 8 and 9 that are really going somewhere, mainly due to the very exciting versions available in the U.K. The FQ series of the car developed by Ralliart UK (Co-Ordsport) in the shape of the FQ 300, 320, 340, 360, 400 and 440 (final version of the Evo X) were all outstanding cars, especially with sub-4 second acceleration to 100 km/hr in the case of the FQ440.

The Evolution VI

This car appeeared in several versions that included the Makinen, which is the most sought after in Australia. The UK limited-edition RS was known as the RS Sprint was tuned by Ralliart in the UK, and was a lighter car as well as having more power (330 bhp).

The Evolution VIII

The ultimate versions of this great car emerged as the FQ300, FQ320, FQ340, and the FQ400. These cars had came 305 bhp, 325 bhp, 345bhp, and 405 bhp respectively (227, 239, 254 and 302 kW).

All of the FQ series were sold through the Mitsubishi Dealer Network by Ralliart in the UK, with the FQ400 producing 405 bhp from the 2.0 Litre 4G63T engine, the result of special modifications by United Kingdom engine tuning companies Rampage Tuning and Owen Developments. This meant that this engine developed 202.9 bhp per litre, which was has one of the highest outputs of any road car engine. This car shot from 0-100 km/hr in just 3.5 seconds, made 160 km/hr in 9.1 seconds, and did the quarter mile in just 12.1 seconds.

This car had a top speed of 282 km/hr. In one episode of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson took on a Lamborghini Murcielago, and kept with it all the way. Some time later, Evo Magazine tested an FQ400 tested the car against an Audi RS4 and a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, and beat them both very convincingly.

The Evolution IX

The Evo IX had all of the goodies of the VIII, along with an aluminium roof for weight reduction, and still retained some of the "fast" versions in the United Kingdom. UK cars could be purchased as the FQ300, 320, 340 and 360 with the corresponding bhp power output. They were all quick cars, and all of the road going versions started out with AYC (Active Yaw Control) attached to the rear differential (on either side of the crown wheel and pinion). By this time, Mitsubishi had also added MIVEC to the cylinder heads, and so power delivery was more widespread along with more torque at higher revs.

The Evolution X

This was the last Lancer Evolution model, and so resultantly had the greatest range of power alternatives. The UK cars were produced as FQ300, 330, 360, 400 and 440 which was ...........radical for a Lancer, at 440 bhp. The Australian cars had one performance option which was the Bathurst Edition, and this had around 300 bhp. This came in celebration of a win in the Bathurst 12 hour event early in the year.

We have plenty of FQ cars that we purchased several years ago in the U.K., and so if anyone needs one, please let us know. They are VERY impressive for a road going 4WD four door car, and are rising in value very fast now. Most early Evo VIII FQ 300's were around  £5,000 (AU$7800) in the UK until recently, although are now worth more than double that amount, at between  £10,000 (AU$15,600) and  £15,500 (AU$24,200).