The nineties are often regarded as the golden era for rallying. You had the likes of Colin McRae with Subaru, Carlos Sainz with Toyota and, of course, Tommi Mäkinen with Mitsubishi. And while many dreamt of being able to light up the circuits like the drivers mentioned above, possessing such skills would require some form of miracle.
What we could have, however, was a taste of the action for the roads, with many of the cars we saw hurtling across gravel at break-neck speed available for purchase — albeit in a slightly toned-down form, admittedly — thanks to homologation rules.
One of the sports cars that embodied the very spirit of "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" was the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. The car was a dominant feature in rallying throughout the '90s, while at the same time being one of the go-to choices for road-going petrolheads across the world. Central to this was legendary Finnish racing driver Tommi Mäkinen and the success he created behind the wheel of the Evo.
The second half of the nineties pretty much belonged to Mäkinen in rallying, with the drivers' title from '96 through to '99 all under his name — and remember, this was at a time when rallying was arguably at its most competitive. It was only right, then, that an Evo was created to commemorate such success: the legendary Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Mäkinen edition.
To understand what makes this car so iconic, let's take a look back at the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition.
The History Behind The Lancer
By the time the Lancer Evolution came around in the early ‘90s, Mitsubishi was no stranger to rallying success. In fact, the very car we can trace the Evolution’s lineage back to — the Lancer — won its debut rally in 1973. What was unprecedented for Mitsubishi, though, was success at the highest level. The foundations for what led to Mitsubishi dominating the WRC in the late nineties can be traced back to the Galant VR4, nearly a decade prior.
The VR4 was a performance version of the Galant, featuring a turbocharged four-cylinder engine — the legendary 4G63 — and a full-time, four-wheel-drive system. It was successful, as you’d expect, but with global rally circuits becoming tighter and tougher, the Galant body shell was switched out for something smaller and easier to navigate: the Lancer.
Along with the uprated engine and four-wheel-drive system, the Lancer’s weight was reduced, its rigidity increased, and its suspension optimised for racing. So, then, the Lancer had evolved dramatically, making the Evolution name pretty self-explanatory. The car could reach sixty in 5.1 seconds and max out at 143 mph, which at the time was supercar quick. To homologate the Evo for rallying, 2,500 road-going models were created in Japan, all of which sold out in just three days. It was, however, just the beginning.
A Look At The Success Of Tommi Mäkinen
Arguably, it wasn’t until 1996 that the Mitsubishi Evo really began to take off, both on a global scale and at the rally stages. This was helped massively by Finnish racing driver Tommi Mäkinen, who joined Ralliart — Mitsubishi’s motorsport division — in 1995. Mäkinen went on to secure four world titles between 1996 and 1999, cementing both his and Mitsubishi’s position at the top in the World Rally Championship. And let’s not forget the type of competition Mäkinen was up against. A car to commemorate such success came naturally, then.
A Detailed Look At The Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition
The Mitsubishi Evolution VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition — or TME, as enthusiasts often name it — was first released in 1999 with a limited run of 2,500 production models. Available colors were Canal Blue, Pyrenees Black, Scottia White, and, of course, Passion Red. The latter of all, when combined with the Special Colour Pack, is the most sought after, for its obvious resemblance to the livery used on Mäkinen’s rally-spec Evo.
The iconic 4G63 engine was used — the same one used in all generations, save for the Lancer Evolution X — which was a 2.0 liter, four-cylinder engine giving out the same 276 bhp as the standard Evo VI. What it did have, however, was a tweaked, faster-spooling turbo, with a titanium turbine wheel fitted to improve throttle response. The ride height was also lowered by 10mm, too, and a quicker steering ratio was also fitted, which meant the already-brilliant-handling VI was pushed that little bit further. As a result of these changes, the TME is often unofficially referred to as the Evolution "6.5".
Three trims were available from the factory, the GSR, RS, and RS2 spec. The RS was essentially a lighter, stripped-down version that didn’t come with Active Yaw Control — a rear differential which distributes torque to the wheel which needs it most, thereby improving traction — while the GSR was a heavier, more useable spec with features like climate control and electric windows. The middle ground of the two was effectively the RS2, which was much like the RS but had some GSR equipment thrown in.
There were some other tweaks over the standard VI, too, both inside and out. The TME came standard with white, 17” Enkei wheels — if you went for the GSR model, that is — and an asymmetrical front bumper, with lights removed to make way for a bigger air intake. Inside, you could have Recaro bucket seats with special Mäkinen embroidery — again, this was an option with RS models — and a MOMO steering wheel. The result was a true rally car for the roads and a fitting tribute to the legacy left behind by Tommi Mäkinen.