The place Have All The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs Gone?

Los Angeles is a reasonably wonderful place to stay as a automobile particular person. I recurrently see ultra-rare automobiles driving round or parked on the road, from homologation specials and cool high-end fashions to shitty previous automobiles that had been simply plain flops. It helps that LA isn’t plagued with the unhealthy climate that causes different older automobiles everywhere in the nation to easily rust away. However there are nonetheless these elusive automobiles that I by no means appear to see round anymore, and just lately I used to be discussing with a pal how the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is a kind of automobiles. (As at all times appears to occur, I really noticed an Evo X in my neighborhood the very subsequent day.)

To be honest, all three generations of Evo had been a rarity within the U.S. to start with. In accordance with Hagerty, between 2003 and 2015 a complete of 43,249 Evos had been imported: 12,846 Evo VIII from 2003-2005, 8,201 Evo IX in 2006 and 22,202 Evo X between 2008 and 2015. In the meantime, Subaru offered 33,724 WRX and STI fashions in 2015 alone.

A cursory search of Autotrader reveals solely 150 Lancer Evolutions presently on the market within the U.S., 118 of that are the Evo X. Even with greater than 100,000 miles and the automated transmission, Evo Xs are buying and selling within the excessive teenagers, and plenty of are priced increased than the unique MSRP of round $35,000. Trying on the identical 2008-to-2015 time interval, AutoTrader has 624 Subaru WRX on the market, 195 of that are STIs.

There haven’t even been that many Evo Xs on websites like Convey a Trailer, both. In 2023 BaT held simply seven auctions, solely two of which really offered, and in 2022 there have been just below a dozen auctions, half of which discovered consumers. The identical goes for Automobiles & Bids, which has solely held 42 Evo X auctions because the website launched in 2020.

Now, I’m positive {that a} sizable chunk of Evo X manufacturing has been stolen, wrecked or changed into drift, rally or race automobiles. I’m additionally positive that an enormous portion of Evos had been modified, whether or not that be wheels and exhaust or SEMA-level stuff, which makes recognizing a clear, unmodified one much more uncommon. And there are most likely a bunch of homeowners which are retaining their Evos garaged, utilizing them as occasional weekend automobiles or holding out for the fitting time to promote.

However nonetheless. The place have all of the Evo Xs gone? I feel the design is ageing properly, the chassis and all-wheel-drive tech continues to be related and the efficiency has actually held up – Automobile and Driver ran a handbook 2015 Ultimate Version from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. In case you’re hoarding some Evo Xs, please get out and drive them! Or no less than park them in my neighborhood so I can admire them on my sizzling woman walks.