Consider the Lancer Evolution the sum of all performance technologies developed by Mitsubishi's trophy-grabbing World Rally Championship (WRC) racing campaign. It's a high-performance version of the Lancer compact sedan but motivated by a souped-up turbo engine and equipped with all-wheel-drive (AWD) traction. Nicknamed 'Evo' in rally racing circles, the sport sedan wears a bulging air scoop on the hood, pontoon-style fenders, high-strength alloy wheels, a carbon-fiber spoiler on the tail and the cockpit fitted with bolstered Recaro sport bucket seats, leather-wrapped Momo steering wheel and rally-style gauges.

Big Brembo brand ventilated disc brakes at all wheels tie to four-channel ABS. But the heart of Evo is its power-pumping engine. The 2.0-liter four-in-line -- turbo-charged and inter-cooled -- serves up 276 hp this year due to a larger diameter for the turbo nozzle. A front limited-slip and electronic center differential are new for all trims -- RS, VIII and MR. The latter dons a larger turbo for more power, a six-speed close-ratio manual transmission, BBS forged alloy wheels, fast-response Bilstein shocks and an aluminum roof that lowers the center of gravity.

The racy hatchback coupe from Mitsubishi seems substantial and strong, but also gracefully sleek like a compressed bullet with sides squared and prow honed to a hard point. The Eclipse for 2005 appears in trims of GS and GT plus GTS. Mitsubishi's 2.4-liter four-pack works for the GS, reaching 147 hp with a manual five-speed transmission, or 140 hp with the optional four-speed automatic.

The Eclipse GT stocks a single-cam 3.0-liter V6.
For GTS the plant runs up ten more points to 210 hp due to the addition of variable induction. A shifter stick on the console connects to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Exclusive for the GS in 2005 is a new REMIX package with top-stitched charcoal leather front seat surfaces, a 210-watt Infinity audio system with six-disc CD changer, 16-inch SXC alloy wheels, chrome exhaust tip and color-keyed door mirrors. It appears in six colors including Liquid Silver and UV Blue.

The convertible edition of the Eclipse was engineered from the outset to work as a car without a coupe's superstructure -- it's rigid and stiff, which sets up sporty road manners. Spyder's power-operated folding soft top lowers in seconds, with all movements controlled by dual electric motors sent into action by a single dashboard button. The exterior looks daring and aggressive like the coupe in geo-mechanical style. A 3.0-liter V6 with variable induction drops into GT and GTS models and generates 210 hp. The Spyder GS continues with the single-cam 2.4-liter four-cylinder plant and manual or automatic transmission. As with the coupe, Spyder GS spins off a new REMIX package with fresh body paint choices like Platinum. (...BACK)