An Obscenely-Rare Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ-440 MR Is For Sale

Think of the most desirable Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, and your mind is rightfully going to wander to the VI Tommi Makinen Edition. From there, you may go to the VI Extreme or the IX FQ-360 HKS, both exceptional examples of the breed.

But what about the Evo X FQ-440 MR? We suspect you’ve either forgotten about it or, if you’re not from the UK, quite possibly never knew it existed.

Offered in 2014, the FQ-440 MR served two purposes. One was intentional, celebrating 40 years of Mitsubishi operating in the UK, and the second less so, ultimately being the final UK special edition Mitsubishi Evo.

Even if a XI is suddenly to appear against all odds, Mitsubishi stopped selling cars on our shores in 2021 so it’d be even less likely to make it here.

On paper, it had all the hallmarks of a pinnacle version of an Evo. The 4B11 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot had some significant UK-market upgrades, including a HKS turbocharger, high-flow injectors and a revised intake system.

That lifted power to 440bhp (hence the name), albeit your only gearbox option was a dual-clutch auto. I’ve been fortunate enough to drive one in the past, and suspect a manual could’ve elevated this to a pantheon of the greats.

Beyond the engine, the FQ-440 MR benefitted from larger Alcon-sourced brakes and a set of Eibach lowering springs from standard. 18-inch BBS wheels completed the package.

This one, car 29 of 40 made, has barely even been run in, covering just 7,518 miles. Given its place in the history of Evos and its condition, expect to end up quite a pricey thing. At the time of writing, there are seven days to go on the Collecting Cars auction and 22 bids have already taken it to £29,250. We genuinely have no idea what figure it could end on, so keep your eyes peeled.