The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV Rally Car '97 is a rally car produced by Mitsubishi. It first appeared in Gran Turismo 4 Prologue and was featured in the subsequent mainline games until Gran Turismo 6.
It appears to be the #1 driven by Tommi Makinen, who won the 1997 World Rally Championship Driver's Title, having won the title in the previous season.
In-game description[]
"The Lancer Evo IV Group A machine that challenged WR cars and won a glorious victory."
In 1997, the WRC revised its regulations to allow the addition of turbochargers and all-wheel-drive systems.[1] Many European makers developed their rally cars in accordance with these provisions, but Mitsubishi stayed with its trusty Lancer Evolution IV from the previous year,[2] determined to stick with a genuine production based vehicle.
Because of its heavy turbocharged engine, the Lancer Evolution was nose-heavy, which made the car understeer. So Mitsubishi equipped the Evo IV with Active Yaw Control (AYC), a system that improved turning ability by varying the torque to the left and right wheels. The car's handling was further improved by going to a double-wishbone setup for the rear suspension. Also, the Evo IV was equipped with a sequential-shift transmission, marking the first time ever that an Evo was equipped with such a gearbox.
The Evo IV performed well in its first several races, with lead driver, Tommi Mäkinen, taking the checker in the fourth round at the Portugal Rally and at the fifth round in Catalunya. In the sixth round at Tour de Corse, the Evo was involved in a major accident, colliding with a cow on the course and falling down a cliff. It sprang back quickly, winning the seventh round contest in Argentina. It also won the tenth round at Rally Finland, giving Mäkinen his second consecutive Driver's Championship.
Acquisition[]
| Game | Purchase location | Credits | Other methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo 4 | --- | --- | Win the Whistler Ice Race on Medium difficulty |
| Gran Turismo PSP | Mitsubishi Dealership | 750,000 | --- |
| Gran Turismo 5 | Used Car Dealership (Lv. 10+) | 293,516 | --- |
| Gran Turismo 6 | Mitsubishi Dealership | 300,000 | --- |
Trivia[]
- Like many of the rally cars that made their transition from Gran Turismo 3, or in this case, Gran Turismo 4: Prologue, the paint scheme was modified between the two games to remove any information about a specific rally:
- The car that appears in-game is based on the #1 entered at the 1997 Rallye Monte Carlo and driven by Tommi Makinen. This is identifiable due to the "Lineltex" stickers above the driver number, the censored white sticker on the rear doors which was only used at the 1997 event, and the red rally plaque on the hood.
- The illegible sticker on the rear doors reads "Monte Carlo", and may have been censored due to Polyphony not having the license to the name, instead having to use Côte d'Azur for the name of the street circuit.
- The number plate, being almost unrecognizable in Gran Turismo 4, reads "P22 MRE". This specific chassis was raced until the 1998 Rally Monte Carlo, where it was wrecked by Makinen. The chassis was likely scrapped afterwards, as the team replaced the IV with the V from the Catalunya Rally afterwards and has not resurfaced since.
- From its appearance in Gran Turismo 4 onwards, the driver and co-driver names were replaced with indecipherable blocks.
- In its original high-poly appearance in Gran Turismo 4: Prologue, the names read "Makinen" and "Harjanne" with Finnish flags next to them. These flags were edited to not represent any country, instead appearing as white rectangles with horizontal gray lines.
Pictures[]
