The new Evo FQ-400 costs £50k

The new Evo FQ-400 arrives with a £50k sticker. Fifty. Thousand. Pounds. You have to absorb that jolt immediately, because you’re into BMW M3 territory-yet, even with all its added kit, it’s still a Lancer that’s been turned up.

Evo FQ-400 performance: quicker than an M3 and a 911

What makes the price easier to process is how rapidly it covers ground. It’ll out-accelerate an M3, and it’s ahead of a 911, too. It’s not a million miles off the Turbo, in fact: 0–60mph takes 3.8secs, and in the hands of Average Bloke it’s very likely the faster point-to-point car.

UK-only Mitsubishi tuning and real-world power delivery

The next curveball is how manageable it feels. As with earlier FQs, the 400 is a UK-only model that Mitsubishi modifies after it lands here. In other words, each car begins life in standard form, then has a couple of parts fitted and the boost turned up. We braced ourselves for huge lag, a lot of noise… and then total mayhem, launching you halfway into infinity.

That isn’t how it behaves-at least not on the “wait all day for boost” front. There’s a brief pause while the turbo comes on song, but useful shove starts at roughly 2,200rpm, and by 3,000rpm you’re already properly moving. The surge builds progressively all the way to the redline as well, so you’re not second-guessing whether it’ll fall off-boost when you grab the next gear. Make no mistake: it’s properly quick.

It also makes sure you’re always aware of it. Compared with the 'normal' FQs, the 400 has a distinctly modified edge. Where the 360 goes about deploying its power with relative calm, the 400 snaps and barks through the gears, and it’ll often crack a shot on the overrun loud enough to set car alarms squealing.

Styling, suspension changes and why the £50,000 matters

Visually, the FQ-400 looks tuned as well. The styling (influenced by the now-legendary Makkinen-edition Evo VI) includes an aggressively scooped, vented bonnet that leaves glittering engine hardware on display like proud cleavage. Up front there’s a lightweight bumper with so much surface sculpture it’s difficult to read its actual outline, while at the rear you get a composite end section and an exhaust you could practically move into.

The ride, though, isn’t quite so “aftermarket”. Yes, it’s firm, but the FQ-400 has been given a 30mm drop, a wider track, and uprated springs and dampers. The payoff is a tighter, more immediate feel, without leaving your hands tingling numb through the steering wheel. Considering the gravity-defying cornering it’s capable of, you’ll happily accept the trade-off.

So despite all its excess, the FQ-400 is a brilliant thing to drive-and it’s fast in the everyday sense, not just on paper. But £50,000? Sure, it’s not subtle, and you absolutely don’t get the class or perceived quality (especially inside) you’d expect from German kit at the same money, but that argument slightly misses what this car is.

Because this is, effectively, the ultimate Evo X. Actually-forget that-it’s the ultimate Evo, full stop. And it straddles a world where owners think nothing of spending £15,000 on loud bodykits and turbo upgrades that erase precisely the premium metal this car is measured against. Look at it in that context and you can see why some people would pay the ask. Even if 'some people' doesn’t mean you.