Latest, fastest Evo X brings back some of the excitement missing from the model so far
It’s true to say that we’ve not yet fully bonded with the Evo X. The shift from the addictive, balls-out, ultra-aggressive rally-bred dynamics of previous Evos to the more easily accessible character of the latest version has been something of a disappointment. Somewhere on the drawing board a little of the fire-breathing soul that has made the Lancer Evolution series such a cult was rubbed out. Simply put, it’s not the car we were hoping for.
Perhaps this, the FQ-360, will be more to our liking. Its badge suggests it totes 60bhp more than the standard FQ-300 for a start, and in fact it’s got an extra 64bhp – up from 290bhp to 354 – the extra fizz released with the help of an HKS breathing kit, a tweaked ECU and a new fuel pump that ensures the flow of super unleaded matches the engine’s ever insistent demands.
As with the FQ-330, the 360’s level of poke is deemed too much for Mitsubishi’s new twin-clutch SST transmission to handle, so this new model is also only available with a five-speed manual ’box. While this might be an unfortunate admission about the strength and durability of the new paddle-shift system, it’s not necessarily a loss, as although SST is slick and fast, it’s not particularly involving.
Source: evo
