Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI Tommi Mäkinen Ed. Sets Sales Record
An ultra-rare Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition set a record bidding price of £100,100 in the UK.
When it comes to depreciation, there’s one class of vehicle that seems to be immune and it’s the rare ’90s Japanese sports car. This was demonstrated this week when a 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition sold at auction for £100,100. This set a record for the highest ever price paid for a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Throughout April 2021, Mitsubishi Motors UK has been clearing their Heritage Fleet, which includes the following 15 cars:
- Lancer EVO VI Tommi Mäkinen
- Starion
- Shogun MK 2
- Shogun MK 1
- Outlander PHEV
- Model A
- Mitsubishi Jeep
- L200 Desert Warrior
- Galant Rally
- Evo X FQ-440
- EVO IX Works Rally
- EVO IX FQ-360
- Colt Lancer
- Colt Galant
- 3000GT
£479,500 was raised selling these vehicles through auction.
Only 250 units of the Lancer EVO VI Tommi Mäkinen were brought into the UK. It was announced at the end of 1999 to celebrate Tommi Mäkinen’s fourth consecutive win at the World Rally Championship. In Japan, the GSR model went for 3,278,000 yen in the year 2000. Accounting for inflation, that’s 3,336,767 yen in 2021. Converted to pound sterling, the Lancer EVO VI would have been priced at around £22,000 in today’s money BRAND NEW!
So, what was special about the car at launch?
This particular version integrated suggestions made by Mäkinen to improve performance. It is powered by a 2-litre, 16-valve DOHC turbocharged petrol motor with a 5-speed manual transmission sending power to all four wheels. In this model, here’s what’s special
- a high-response titanium turbocharger with a redesigned compressor wheel for better low-to-mid torque
- suspension has been tuned for tarmac surfaces
- steering ratio is quickened
- a new muffler with a single large bore tailpipe for quite performance
- front strut tower bar
- front bumper with a modified design that improves aerodynamics and lower air intake temperature
- 17″ alloy wheels in white (Mitsubishi Group A Works car style)
- Special Group A Works colouring and decals packages were available
- Recaro bucket seats in red fabric and Ecsaine suede upholstery with Tommi Makinen logo embroidered on seat
- dashboard in black with red lettering
- exclusive instrument dial faces
- MOMO Steering wheel and gear knob in red stitched leather
Here’s the press release with more information about the Heritage Fleet sale.
PRESS RELEASE
Speaking of performance potential, one of the cars that have invited the most bidding thus far has been the 2001 Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makinen Edition, offered in the UK in tiny numbers to celebrate rally driver’s fourth world rally championship title, captured for Mitsubishi. Just 250 were offered in the UK in the year 2000 and all quickly found buyers at the time.
The Mitsubishi Motors heritage auction drew to a close on the evening of April 30, 2021 and, after values had climbed steady throughout the month of April, there was a flurry of last minute action as the auction deadline for each lot approached.
Unsurprisingly, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition was the most sought-after car in the auction, with a top bid of £100,100 setting what is a record hammer price for a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (previously around £99,000 for a delivery-mileage Evo IX set in the US in 2017).
Close behind was the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR FQ-360 by HKS which eventually sold for £68,900, likely to be the third highest-value Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ever sold at auction.
The Lancer Evolution X, number 40 of 40 of the final batch of FQ-440 MR special editions, the last official “Evo” sold in the UK, went under the hammer for £58,100, while the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX Group N Works Rally Car – the two-time championship-winner driven by Guy Wilkes and co-driven by Phil Pugh – sold for £61,700. Between them, the four Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions accounted for 60% of the total amount generated by the heritage fleet auction.
The rest of the heritage fleet also performed extremely well with all of the vehicles achieving exceptionally strong values. The Mk1 Colt Lancer 1.4 Standard 2-Door, the first Mitsubishi registered in the UK, sold for £15,000 with its stablemate, the Colt Galant 2000 GLII, selling for £11,600. The equally unique Mitsubishi Galant GLSi rally replica sold for £12,500, another vehicle whose value was not only a reflection of its condition and mechanical health but also its provenance and historical significance for the brand.
The rare, pristine and completely original Mk1 Mitsubishi Shogun sold for £16,000, while the even rarer Mitsubishi Jeep J27 attracted a top bid of £20,600. Not so rare but equally as spotless, the Mk2 Shogun V6 SWB sold for a healthy £9,600 while the newest vehicles on the fleet, the 2015 Outlander PHEV and the L200 Desert Warrior, attracted top bids of £16,000 and £30,100 respectively.
The brand’s iconic supercars, the Mitsubishi Starion and Mitsubishi 3000GT, both in exceptional condition, sold for £21,100 and £24,500 respectively, record values for both vehicles in a UK auction.
Amongst the private number plates sold at auction, the four-character plates ending in CCC all performed extremely well, with 1 CCC topping £24,000 and all nine places (1-9 CCC) topping £121,700 in total. Another coveted registration, P1HEV, attracted a top bid of £4,500.
Last, but certainly not least, the 7/10th working replica of a 1917 Mitsubishi Model A, the first ever vehicle produced by Mitsubishi, sold for £13,700 undoubtedly a world record for 7/10 scale Mitsubishi Model A models.
In total, the auction generated £627,100 and attracted a total of 1,287 bids across all 51 lots.
The new Mitsubishi range is available to order now from Mitsubishi showrooms and via Mitsubishi Motors’ Buy Online service: mitsubishi-motors.co.uk/buy
About the Author
Subhash Nair Written work on dsf.my. @subhashtag on instagram. Autophiles Malaysia on Youtube.
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