Today’s Nice Price or No Dice EVO X represents the last hurrah for Mitsubishi’s long-running rally car for the street. We’ll have to decide if this one’s price tag warrants any applause.
According to some other sources around the Web, the $39,500 asked for the appreciably rare 1998 Panoz AIV Roadster we looked at last Friday was market-correct. As reported by the majority of you, however, the market is wrong. That’s the most likely takeaway we can glean from the 69 percent No Dice loss the Panoz suffered.
If you watch the online hijinks of our friend Tyler Hoover, purveyor of the self-described “dumbest automotive channel in all of YouTube,” you likely know that one of his most recent purchases is the jankiest last-generation Mitsubishi EVO he could find. That beat-to-hell EVO was made even jankier by the actions of the delivery transporter, who ripped the exhaust off the car during unloading, destroying the O2 sensors in the process. The result is a car that runs like crap once it gets off the cold idle circuit. Fortunately, Hoovie managed to nurse the car over to the Car Wizard’s shop where, hopefully, it will be wrenched back into reasonably good health.
This 2008 Mitsubishi EVO X GSR doesn’t look to be janky in the least. In fact, aside from some evidence of wear on the driver’s seat bolsters, it doesn’t show any signs of use or abuse at all. Those seats, it should be noted, are the optional and desirable Recaro buckets, something Hoovie’s beat-box lacks.
Both his and our cars have the manual, however, and ours spices things up in the cabin with an A-pillar gauge pack and aftermarket large-screen head unit in the dash. There are other mods under the hood, where the turbo 2.0 four has been gifted a cold air intake and aftermarket pop-off valve. That’s all been mated with what looks to be a larger intercooler wedged behind the bumper.
Stock, the EVO made a healthy 291 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque, putting those numbers to good use via Mitsubishi’s torque traffic-controlling AWD system and some fat low-profile meats at each corner. With its subtle engine mods, this car likely produces a few more ponies than stock, but likely not enough to get noticed.
The car will get noticed, though, since it’s pretty-damn good looking on the outside, and wears sizable aero aids on both ends. The silver paint isn’t the most expressive, but it seems to be in perfectly serviceable shape, and matches well with the back roof and carbon fiber trim. The Kansei KNP alloys also appear to be solid citizens.
According to the ad, this EVO sports a clean title and comes with a middle-of-the-road 126,000 miles on the clock. It’s dealer-offered and is laughably marketed in typical dealer-speak: “fully loaded!” “Financing available!” The ad doesn’t tell us anything about the car’s ownership history or condition but does list all the expected options and provides lots of helpful pictures. It also notes the price, which is $19,999.
Now, Hoovie paid less than half that amount for his EVO X. However, once all the repairs have been made, it will be somewhere in the neighborhood—say, two doors down—from this one’s asking. And that doesn’t even cover his car’s bodywork and interior issues. This EVO appears to be a turn-key car that avoids all the YouTube monetization opportunities Tyler’s car offers. That’s just fine for you and me, but is this EVO worth that $19,999 asking to turn that key?
What do you say? Is this a better deal than a cheaper but way jankier edition? Or is that too much to ask for even the nicest Gen-X?
You decide!
Portland, Oregon, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
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