2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

The Japanese automaker Mitsubishi has just announced details about the 2010 Lancer Evolution X for its home market and it looks like they are only making it better. Mitsubishi made enough of these turbocharged all wheel drive sports car in 2008 to last through the 2009 model year, so the announcement of a new 2010 model is a good sign and means that things are back on track for the super car fighting sport compact from the diamond star carmaker. Keep in mind that these updates are currently only being confirmed for the Japanese spec model, but it shouldn’t take too long for the U.S. market to feel the benefits of the upgrades.

The JDM 2010 EVO X now comes with a lower hanging set of side skirts and some new lightweight plastic pieces that actually shed about three pounds off the X’s front end. The new appearance package improves the looks of new Evolution model making it ground effects package that looks as nice as any aftermarket kit on the market. On the inside Mitsubishi has upgraded the monochromatic LCD display on the EVO’s gauges with a more colorful unit that also features a few more performance enhancing functions.

Aside from the aesthetics, the single largest change to the Lancer Evolution lineup is that even the entry level GSR, the 4B11 turbocharged four banger will be mated to a six speed twin clutch transmission from the current top of the line MR model. That means that there will be no more heel toe shifting or manually banging of the five forward gears that made driving an EVO have a more visceral feel. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with an extra cog to improve fuel economy on the highway or a gearbox that is more intelligent than the human behind the wheel, at least when it comes to shifting. However this means that tuners looking to upgrade their vehicles will now have to worry about modifying their SST transmissions as well.