Yes, I put a frowny face emoticon in the headline. I apologize for nothing. I am deeply saddened by the current state of Mitsubishi in the U.S. market, as well as the fact that the legendary Lancer Evolution X has no successor in sight, despite wild reports to the contrary over the years. For those of you who would like to buy one new, this is your last chance. Ever.
Meet the 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition. Final Edition. There’s a terminal quality to that name that just makes me want to call it a day at 10 a.m. and drown my sorrows in Jim Beam, only to throw the empty bottle at the nearest WRX STI that passes by.
Or, I could drown my sorrows with the Evo’s 303 horsepower, 305 LB-FT 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four as I work through its five manual gears. Yes, five. The Evo hasn’t aged especially well.
But maybe that old-school hardness still appeals to you, and with an entry price of $37,995, it had better. Other improvements over the base GSR model include an extra 12 HP, two-piece Brembo calipers up front, Bilstein shock absorbers and Eibach springs all around, dark chrome Enkei wheels and a little plaque indicating which number yours is. Only 1,600 are coming to the U.S.
Farewell to thee, Evo X. You were a legend in your time. I’m sad we never got an Evo XI replacement for you. Maybe we will, someday. Who knows?
Maybe Mitsubishi’s fortunes will have changed, somehow, and in a few years, you’ll be back. We will have a lot of catching up to do, the way performance cars are advancing these days. I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again.
And here’s a video of them rolling off the assembly line, if you need more feels:
Contact the author at patrick@jalopnik.com.