Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Tommi Makkinen Edition

Highlights

• Genuine Tommi Makinen Edition
• Imported from Japan in 2022 and registered this year
• MOT until February 2025
• Japanese service history
• Original unmodified example

Overview

As far as motorsport CVs go, Tommi Makinen’s is at an elite level. Four times a World Champion and 24 times a World Rally winner, his legendary status among a gallery of flying Finns is assured.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that Mitsubishi named a car after him – after all, Tommi and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo are intrinsically linked.

The model that was built to commemorate Makinen's extraordinary WRC success was based on the Evo VI (or 6.5 if you like – the Romans may have been good at plumbing, but they weren’t really down with decimalisation) and remains one of the most sought-after Evos of the lot.

Introduced in 2000 and sold for just under two years, the Tommi Makinen edition, or TME in Evo vernacular, was a 276bhp rally-honed special, with a pared down lightweight shell, permanent four-wheel-drive and standard Active Yaw Control (AYC). Like the rally car – and, indeed, lesser Evos – the tenacity of its grip is beyond compare. It’s a well-planted car that makes its arch-rival, the Subaru Impreza WRX, feel like a butterfly by comparison. Almost no other car is as rewarding to drive in such a committed manner.

Around 2500 Evo VI TMEs were built, but of those only 212 were officially SCP models. Those three letters mean a lot to collectors, but translate rather boringly to Special Colour Pack – a rather innocuous way of telling you that they were officially finished in the red and white Ralliart livery. Each one came with its own little numbered pot to store the locking wheel nut in – a more novel approach, certainly, than a plaque inside the cabin, though there is some debate about how many were made, with Evo diehards believing that there were, in fact, many more SCPs than the official figure.

Irrespective, a genuine car is a highly and increasingly collectable one, and this is one such example. Imported from Japan in late 2022 and registered earlier this year, it was imported by the vendor and has had quite a bit of work carried out to get it road legal for the UK.

If you love driving, there’s nothing like an Evo. Its heavy running gear, AYC and a turbocharger that spools up quickly from low revs make it quite different to most Japanese performance cars, which tend to only come alive at the top of the rev range. The Evo’s responses are instant and they keep on going until well north of 180mph, or at least they did in our experience, on a German autobahn with a ferry to catch.

But that’s our story. Yours begins here, when you cast your winning bid and become the new owner of a car that’s steeped in rallying legend.

History and documentation

• UK V5C in the name of the vendor
• MOT Feb 2025
• Original handbooks and manuals
• All importation paperwork complete and duties paid
• One UK owner
• Substantial Japanese service history up to 196,400km
• Current mileage of just over 197,000km (around 122,000 miles)
• Correct SCP locking wheel nut pot

Interior

• BRIDE racing front seats in good order
• Original cloth and Alcantara rear seats
• Air conditioning
• Momo sports steering wheel with minor wear
• Leather gearknob with Ralliart red stitching
• Original CD stereo
• FATT Advance+ turbo timer
• Original factory mats and carpets in good order
• Very good door trims and headlining, with some very small areas of door trims coming loose

Exterior

• Genuine SCP colour scheme – Ralliart Red with partial works WRC livery
• Original alloy wheels, refurbished with correct Ralliart logos
• Brand new Bridgestone Potenza tyres all-round
• No signs of external corrosion or damage
• Appears straight and solid underneath – vendor undertook a full restoration of the underside of the car with new sill panels, all painted and detailed in the correct Ralliart Red
• Paint presents well, but the red is a little flat in places and would respond to a machine polish

Mechanical

• 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder
• Six-speed manual gearbox
• 276bhp
• Active Yaw Control
• Permanent four-wheel-drive
• Brembo ceramic brake callipers
• Jasma stainless sports exhaust system
• Serviced by vendor with new belts, cam cover, manifold cover and spark plugs
• New brake discs, pads and callipers front and rear
• Vendor reports that the Evo is thrilling to drive with no known or apparent faults other than the AYC warning light occasionally coming on and then going out again

Summary

If you want a piece of rallying history, then short of a genuine WRC car they don’t come much more iconic than a genuine Tommi Makinen SCP.

This one is a great example worthy of any collection, but it isn’t some perfect low-mileage example you’ll be scared to put miles on. It’s been used and enjoyed by its previous owners, but has also been very well-maintained and has been subject to a full recommission and substantial work in the hands of its one UK owner, who has brought it up to a lovely overall standard. Now’s your chance to enjoy one of the finest and most focused driver’s cars ever made, knowing that if you look after it, its value is likely only going one way. It’s a win-win situation for the lucky top bidder.

To arrange a viewing, please request this in the Q&A section. You can click through to the seller's profile and use the 'Email Me' function to arrange a viewing privately. This seller is located in the West Midlands.