Since I am the only son I have a little 'problem when it comes to attention - I'm always looking. This, however, is socially accepted "only child syndrome", so I think I can get away with it. Unfortunately I can not escape the fact that I am the person most photogenic of the United Nations planet, so it will not be draped over the hood of the new Mitsubishi in the near future. A crowd at any party or social, as you might think they are there, in front of Gurning uncontrollably in front of the camera.
Just a few years ago, this would not be a serious problem as the photo would have been sentenced to an album of family photos or remain imprisoned friends, the memory card. Today, the dawn of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have jumped all over the place looking ugly as sin.
Short of some radical surgery of the face or attached to land and forced to be solemn, it was hard to think about how to attract attention while keeping my dignity and not make silly faces in public. The good news is that I found the answer, it comes from Japan and is now in its tenth incarnation: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (It is ten Roman numerals for the uninitiated).
Mitsubishi is undoubtedly a brilliant car, as it appears on the showroom, but I'm a big fan of history and heritage and Evolution models feature a lineage largest and most impressive. Formula One has always been accused of lacking power and be controlled by computers more and more as the years pass. A world rally could not be more than a polar opposite, cliff drops, mud-spattered cars and windshields are the source of spectacular crashes, and drivers are petrified of navigation is a co-pilot reads instructions from a clipboard.
This is where the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution models come in. For years, Evo and Subaru Impreza rival slugged it on the rally circuit, before returning to two rounds on public roads. For me, if I was still that Mitsubishi raised the flag and especially Tommi Makinen, who won the World Rally Championship on four occasions in 1996, '97, '98 and '99 - every once in a Mitsubishi . There was a time when I was a young teen to develop my love for cars and the sight of Makinen win the championship in Wales of all places will always keep with me.
Perhaps now you can see why I'm so passionate about the latest Lancer Evolution, although it's not purely based on my boyhood memories. In recent years the Mitsubishi/Subaru battle has moved firmly into Mitsubishi's favour with Subaru's stylists' seemingly going blind judging by the exceedingly ugly cars it's produced. Mitsubishi on the other hand has toned down (ever so slightly) its aggressive styling, made the Evolution one of the best handling cars money can buy and then stuck a price tag on it that undercuts anything that could rival it by at least £40,000.
The Evolution X is pure PlayStation generation styling with big wheels and spoiler, a front grill that could plough through snow and headlights that give the car the look of Mike Tyson in his prime. However it is still a more subtle offering than previous models and the more grown-up feel continues inside. Yes it's not the most inspiring cabin I've ever seen, it's a typical workmanlike Japanese offering rather than Italian flair, but crucially everything on the X is far better quality than its elders.
Whereas build quality may have been in question previously, performance certainly wasn't. Needless to say, the latest model doesn't disappoint, with the snappily titled Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-360 GSR the one in the range to plump for. In fact it'll get from 0-60mph in a mere 4.1 seconds, which is a damn sight faster that 99 percent of the competition and much faster than you can say it's name.
Yet despite this Ferrari beating performance the Mitsubishi's best feature is how it handles. The most accurate way I can describe it other than that overused word 'perfection' is to say it manages to handle like a rally car should but won't break your spine on the shopping run either. It is a racing car for the everyman (or woman). Well if the everyman (or woman) has £37,999 spare. Yes it's not cheap initially but when you're beating Ferrari's with the wife in the front, two kids in the back and your shopping in the boot having paid at least £70,000 less than Ferrari man you'll see where I'm coming from.
Besides with the credit crunch I'm hoping the prices will plummet on used versions. I just hope I can cope with all the attention I'll get.
The Evolution X is pure PlayStation generation styling with big wheels and spoiler, a front grill that could plough through snow and headlights that give the car the look of Mike Tyson in his prime. However it is still a more subtle offering than previous models and the more grown-up feel continues inside. Yes it's not the most inspiring cabin I've ever seen, it's a typical workmanlike Japanese offering rather than Italian flair, but crucially everything on the X is far better quality than its elders.
Whereas build quality may have been in question previously, performance certainly wasn't. Needless to say, the latest model doesn't disappoint, with the snappily titled Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-360 GSR the one in the range to plump for. In fact it'll get from 0-60mph in a mere 4.1 seconds, which is a damn sight faster that 99 percent of the competition and much faster than you can say it's name.
Yet despite this Ferrari beating performance the Mitsubishi's best feature is how it handles. The most accurate way I can describe it other than that overused word 'perfection' is to say it manages to handle like a rally car should but won't break your spine on the shopping run either. It is a racing car for the everyman (or woman). Well if the everyman (or woman) has £37,999 spare. Yes it's not cheap initially but when you're beating Ferrari's with the wife in the front, two kids in the back and your shopping in the boot having paid at least £70,000 less than Ferrari man you'll see where I'm coming from.
Besides with the credit crunch I'm hoping the prices will plummet on used versions. I just hope I can cope with all the attention I'll get.
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