This is a press day drive, minimally instrumented, held in Japan before the introduction of the JDM model Evo X. These are pre-production cars and only relate generally to what will be the North American Lancer Evolution. Pre-production models may or may not change before actual production commences - we have no way of knowing at this early point.
The GSR is the entry-level JDM model of the Evo. In the timeframe of the prior Evo model, it did not have a North American analogy. In fact in the original Evo VIII timeframe, it came with steel wheels and base seats (non-Recaro) to keep costs and weight down. So this does not necessarily relate directly to North America because emissions standards and levels of equipment would affect acceleration numbers of whatever models Mitsubishi North American plans for us. The entry model here may or may not have the AYC standard, but I think it's unlikely if Mitsubishi wants to hit the 30k mark for an entry level. The AYC system is *expensive*.
Nevertheless, it is an interesting article. Note the handling numbers that were attained - these are attributable to the stuffer body structure and to the ASR. From a handling standpoint, this will clearly be a good track car out of the box!
It will probably be the late spring or summer before we see a fully instrumented track test of an actual production North American Evo. In the meantime, we have the Japanese introduction at the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of October. For those of us who regularly get the Japanese car magazines (print and video), we should start to see road tests and track videos before the end of the year.
As I see them, I'll post information about them on my Evo X site:
