Two rallies cars fight it out for the title
Photo courtesy of Subaru and Mitsubishi
When the entrants for the World Rally Championship lined up in Europe for the start of the 1993 season, two Japanese pocket rockets turned up with very different personalities. Subaru’s Impreza WRX was born from an idea that a comfortable, practical car could be made fiercely fast — a boxer-engineered, all-wheel-drive compact with a surprisingly civilized ride. Mitsubishi’s answer, the Lancer Evolution, with its boy-racer styling, was an engineered assault rifle. It was light where it needed to be, brutally direct, and every iteration sharpened for hot laps and rally stages.
The 90s were dominated by Japanese rally cars
On the rally stages, the results were a tidy reflection of their strengths. Subaru, with Prodrive running the Subaru World Rally Team, captured three consecutive manufacturers’ championships in 1995, 1996 and 1997, helped by charismatic drivers in Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg and the car’s forgiving nature that let pilots get on the limits quickly.
Mitsubishi’s highlight in the WRC years was Finnish ace Tommi Mäkinen’s dominance with four consecutive drivers’ world championships (1996–1999), and one manufacturers’ title in 1998 — proof that the Evo’s focused brutality could be turned into consistent championship points.
The road cars mirrored their highly sprung racetrack versions. Let’s have a quick look at the evolution of the years of the Mitsubishi and Subaru machines.
The final Evo X
Photo courtesy of Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution – quick tour
Born in 1992, the Lancer Evo I, called the Lancer GSR Evolution, boasted a 250-hp 2.0-liter turbo 4G63 engine with five-speed manual and 4WD. It was raw and rally-ready but delivered spartan comforts. Featuring a minor tweak in design and aerodynamics, the Evo II debuted in late 1993 with a subtle boost in turbo response and drivetrain tuning, and while it offered sharper chassis response, it’s cabin was still very spartan.
Between 1995 and 1999, Mitsubishi launched the Evo III, Evo IV, Evo V and Evo VI in quick succession, a period that saw the car employ progressive aero, stronger internals and on the Evo VI, the brand’s standout tech—Active Yaw Control (AYC)—which is a torque vectoring system that improves cornering and stability by adjusting the torque sent to the rear wheels. The Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition, launched in 1999 to celebrate his multiple wins, incorporated bespoke Recaro seats and a Momo steering wheel in addition to mechanical upgrades and tweaked suspension. These versions packed huge mid-range torque but were punishing at the limit.
The Evo VII of 2001, had a wider track, more advanced AWD hardware and improved chassis stiffness which made it basically a race car for the road and unforgiving as a daily commute. In 2003, the Evo VIII got a stronger turbo, refined suspension and was finally exported to the U.S. boasting superb steering and feedback from the road. The Evo IX in 2005 added the brand’s MIVEC variable valve timing in some markets and power was boosted, while the cost went up as well.
Then in 2007, Mitsubishi launched the Evo X, the final Evo with a new 2.0-liter turbo engine as well as an optional SST twin-clutch automatic to try to make it more palatable for a wider audience. But with the best balance of speed and civility so far, the car still delivered brutal ride quality and a higher price.
The ‘bugeyed’ WRX of 2000 was controversial
Photo courtesy of Subaru
Subaru Impreza WRX — quick tour
The Subaru Impreza WRX was also launched in 1992 with the brand’s first WRC driver’s title going to Scot Colin McRae in 1995. The road-going WRX employed an EJ-series 2.0-liter boxer turbo engine packing 250-hp, and Subaru’s signature symmetrical AWD system with 5-speed manual and viscous center diff on the wagon and sedan versions. The first STi variants and Type-RA lightweight models appeared early, offering superb composure and rally-derived control with more ride comfort but were less raw than a dedicated Evo. In fact, the first-gen Impreza WRX, which encompassed the Version 1 through Version 4 lasted till the late 90s.
Then in 2000, came the controversial second-generation ‘bug-eyed’ WRX employing the EJ25 2.5-liter engine in the U.S. with a power boost to 280-hp. It has broader global availability due to its power, rally-winning pedigree and more comfortable ride the Lancer Evos.
The third generation, launched in 2007, lasted through to 2014, and incorporated wide-body STi variants with huge spoilers and more power as well as a stiffer chassis and more mod-cons inside. This model offered beefier mid-range torque while some pundits complained it had lost some of its rawness.
In 2014, the WRX name was separated from Impreza to become an independent model in its own right but still packed a boxer turbo, prodigious power and rally-winning AWD and it was fitted with a 6-speed manual.
Back-to-back comparison
When you put them side-by-side, the distinction is clear in seat-of-the-pants thrills. The Lancer Evolution spent its development cycle chasing ultimate lap times and parent-company glory in motorsport: lighter, sharper steering, more mechanical grip and a ride that telegraphed every stone and bump. The Impreza WRX favored composure — its suspension tuning and packaging gave better ride quality and a driver who wanted to cruise to the stage and then attack could do so without feeling exhausted afterward. Subaru’s approach won it manufacturer trophies in the mid-1990s and loyal global customers; Mitsubishi’s uncompromising ladder to the apex rewarded drivers with championship silverware and a cult of hardcore fans.
Clarkson weighs in
In one of his classic summaries, BBC Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson joked that the Lancer Evolution was the choice if you wanted to set lap records or terrify passengers, whereas the Subaru was the car you’d want to drive home in afterward. The Evo was rawer, faster and more focused, the Impreza more rounded and liveable. For him, that contrast wasn’t a flaw but the essence of why the rivalry mattered — two cars born from the same motorsport roots, yet delivering completely different experiences.
Both cars left legacies that outlived their rally careers: the Evo became shorthand for track-ready aggression, while the Impreza WRX morphed into the archetype of a usable performance car that doubles as a daily driver. Their 20-year rivalry was a study in tradeoffs — outright speed and edge (Mitsubishi) vs comfort and composure (Subaru) — and it produced some of the most beloved pocket rockets the car world has ever known.
If you’re choosing between them today, the Evo is the pick for someone who wants the last word in raw, analogue rally feel; the Impreza WRX is for the driver who wants serious pace but still arrives home with a grin rather than a numb backside. Either way, the roads, and the pages of WRC history, are richer thanks to their uncompromising rivalry.