It didn't take long for Japan's journalists to get the new STI and EVO X side by side, and the results are now officially in. Tsukuba circuit regulars Kazuo Shimizu and Manabu Kawaguchi spent an afternoon thrashing around the notoriously twisty short circuit just north of Tokyo and here (drum roll please) are the best times they could ring out of the AWD rivals:
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X : 1:06:46
Subaru Impreza WRX STI : 1:05:95
So there you have it. The new engine placed further forward in the engine bay of the EVO X than in the EVO IX has indeed proven to be a handicap, while the STI's "wheel at each corner" longer wheelbase plus new double wishbone rear suspension has proved its worth.
Neither car is quite as quick as its immediate ancestor though.
Check out this 15 year rivalry of the EVO vs the STI as recorded at Tsukuba after the jump.
[Source: CAR Top magazine]
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EVO / STI
2006 1:05:07 / 1:04:72
2005 1:04.88 / 1:04:17
2003 1:05:30 / 1:04:69
2001 1:05:17 / 1:06:56
1998 1:04:69 / 1:06:73
1996 1:07:00 / 1:05:92
1994 1:06:52 / 1:06:26
1992 1:10:90 / 1:07:99