For us car guys (or maybe it’s just me), when we hear World Rally Championship only 2 cars come up. The Subaru Impreza and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. I have always been a fan of the Evo, maybe because I prefer the sound of it’s inline four-pot turbo over the bellow of the flat 4 of the Subaru. I also think that the Evo looks better, looks more restrained and more mature.
It got me thinking, as it has a huge follwing in the world of performance motoring, it became the starter kit for the race car driver at heart. A lot of people modify and race them. But why? The answer as it turned out is because of the engine and the drivetrain. Let’s look at that first one.
What makes it so, Sirius?
The Mitsubishi “Sirius” 4G63 engine, no, seriously, it’s really called that. It’s a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine which at it’s most powerful form, produces 400hp, from a 2.0L!? Mitsubishi achieved that by fitting it with a humungous turbocharger. Also, of course, the basics of a good performance engine are covered, an aluminium dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) cylinder head, multi-point fuel injection, 4 valves per cylinder, intercooler, forged steel connecting rods, and it features the Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control system (MIVEC). The only thing that doesn’t sound high-performance is the cylinder block, it’s a cast-iron block. The reason why I don’t think it’s very sporty is because iron blocks are heavy, but I also get why they do this. The 4G63 is heavily turbocharged, the block needs to resist excessive heat produced by forced induction.
Great Engines From JDM
This engine is so great that it powered every single one, but the last Evo. To me, it’s like the 2JZ engine from the Toyota Supra, in a way that it’s over engineered, but they differ in a way that the 2JZ is made to be super reliable and the 4G63 is made to be super powerful. If you’d ask me, what’s the greatest engine ever made by the Japanese carmakers, the Mitsubishi 4G63 would definitely in the top 10.
World Rally Championship
Mitsubishi won the World Rally Championship (WRC) 4 times in a row. Their driver, Finnish Tommi Makinen won the 1996 WRC with the Lancer Evolution III, the 1997 WRC with the Evo IV, the 1998 WRC with the Evo V and the 1999 WRC with the Evo VI.
Performance motorists that prefer to install the 4G63 to their project cars are willing to pay up to 140,000 Philippine Pesos for the engine alone, there are a lot for sale on eBay. The 4G63 is now almost 39 years old and the one produced by Mitsubishi British engineers is the most powerful engine ever made by Mitsubishi motors. Sadly, Mitsubishi has dropped the Lancer and it brought the Evo and the 4G63 engine with it (obviously), with no rumors yet that if it will ever return. I have a solution though, Mitsubishi still sell stumping great cars here in the Philippines, like the Montero Sport, the Strada pickup, the Mirage and all the rest of it. Buy them! If Mitsubishi get enough profits from their current lineup, they might, well not with the 4G63 because it’s old, get back to Rallying and create another engine that would follow the legendary 4G63.