"The trouble with extreme cars is that they can never be extreme enough. Just as Mercedes has seen fit to increase the power of the SLR from 626 horsepower to 722 hp, so Mitsubishi UK has produced an evolution of the Evolution, the 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution IX FQ-360. British customers not content with the standard car's already-generous 305 hp can now indulge themselves with a 366-hp special, engineered by the importer's tuning division, Ralliart, and sold with a proper warranty.
The FQ-360 — yes, "FQ" really does stand for "f*cking quick" — is not the most powerful "Evo" that Ralliart has produced. In 2004 it indulged us with a 400-hp version of the Evolution VIII but that car was too focused for its own good. While it was fantastic fun on the right road, the PR-friendly power output compromised its drivability and undermined the Evo's "everyday supercar" aspirations. The FQ-360 is an attempt to right that wrong.
"We've worked hard to optimize the FQ-360's drivability," says Paul Brigden, Ralliart's general manager. "We wanted to deliver the best possible driving experience, rather than concentrating on a headline-grabbing power output."
The engine
The uprated engine mixes components from the FQ-400 and the Evo IX. The 1,997cc four-cylinder twin-scroll turbo engine — used in Evos since the dawn of time — has been overhauled with the introduction of a high-pressure fuel pump and a high-flow catalytic converter, both of which were pinched from the FQ-400. The ECU is new and bespoke. "
Read Article