Celebrating 30 years of the Mitsubishi Evolution and Subaru Impreza: 1992 – 2022
At this year’s Go Japan! we are excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of two Japanese motor industry icons: the motorsport-inspired Mitsubishi Evolution and Subaru Impreza. Both were launched in 1992 and went on to revolutionise the sport of rallying and confirmed Japan as the world’s leading producer of high-performance production cars.
The Mitsubishi Evolution did exactly what its inventors intended it to do: it evolved, from the Evolution I in 1992 through to the Evolution X in 2008. The final models were produced in 2014 especially for Mitsubishi UK when 40 cars – designated FQ 440 – were created to commemorate the British distributors 40th anniversary.
At the same time, the Subaru Impreza went through a series of incarnations with the WRX and STi models also evolving in order to keep pace with market trends and the need to homologate higher performing variants. Whilst it’s a very different car to the one manufactured 30 years ago, the Impreza is still in production today.
With both the Evo and Impreza sharing the same intrinsic features: a 2-litre turbo-charged engine coupled to four-wheel-drive transmission fitted within a four-door saloon, there immediately became a rivalry between these two ground-breaking cars. The competition was publicly played-out on the global stage in the World Rally Championship, with both claiming the manufacturers titles: Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg each won the WRC with Subaru in 1995, 2001 and 2003 respectively, whilst Tommi Makinen won it with Mitsubishi from 1996 to 1999.
Each year at Go Japan! we aim to celebrate, commemorate and acknowledge a significant moment in Japanese car culture and the country’s automotive history. At the 2020 show we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Honda NSX and in 2021, with the Honda Civic entering its 50th year of manufacturer and its UK production in Swindon coming to a close, we celebrated the achievements of this most British of Japanese cars. We are therefore delighted to continue the theme at this year’s Go Japan with the 30th anniversary of the Mitsubishi Evolution and the Subaru Impreza.
We are well aware that the rivalry between these two legendary models continues to this day. Consequently, we’re going to try to find out which is most popular and revered by inviting clubs, owners and collectors of Evolutions and Imprezas of any shape or form, to join us for this important moment in the cars’ illustrious and spectacular history.
The Mitsubishis and Subarus will be located in two separate but adjacent areas, making it clear to see which manufacturer is best represented. Then, during the day, we’ll be presenting awards for the best cars and clubs on display, as well as instigate a number of other activities that will pitch one brand against the other.
There will also be an opportunity for the cars on display to be driven on the track in a grand parade designed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of two of Japan’s best-loved automotive creations.
Get ready for the ultimate battle of the Japanese brands – at Brands!
