Estimated Price: £40,000 - £50,000

By 1997, rallying had captured the imagination of petrolheads all over the world and Mitsubishi sold 6,000 Evolution IVs in the first three days of its launch! In quick succession, the Lancer Evolution VI came to be and in the latter-half of 1999, Mitsubishi unleashed a special edition to celebrate its favourite son’s four consecutive WRC drivers' titles from 1996-1999 - the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI 'Tommi Mäkinen Edition' (TME). The Evolution VI was already a technological tour de force, but the TME had a more responsive titanium turbocharger, uprated and lowered suspension, quicker steering, a different exhaust, a new ECU, beefed-up transfer case internals, a redesigned front bumper and authentic 17" WRC Enkei alloy wheels. There was a special interior featuring embossed Recaro seats, a MOMO steering wheel and red stitching. The performance upgrades saw the 0-60mph time down to 4.4 seconds and a maximum top speed of 150mph. Power was rumoured to be over 300bhp, rather than the 276bhp 'agreement'.

Widely regarded as the finest Lancer to wear the Evolution badge, it was now available in five colours, with Passion Red and Canal Blue joining Scotia White, Pyrenean Black and Satellite Silver. Only 250 TMEs (across the five colours) were officially imported into the UK, with 100 examples going to Australia and the rest sold domestically in the Japanese market.

Finished in the rarer Tommi Mäkinen Edition colour of Canal Blue, this stunning EVO VI has covered just 76,924km (47,800 miles) and was supplied new in Japan with optional front fog lights where it stayed until 2015 with records of the mileage recorded from 2011/2015. It was auctioned with a Grade Three appraisal and sold on 13/03/2015 to a buyer in the USA where it stayed until 13/03/2019 before being exported to the UK with an odometer reading of 75,273km.

It was registered here on 1/10/2019 before being despatched to Mitsubishi Evo specialists Autotorque of Aylesbury for a full health check and major service included oil changes to the engine, gearbox and all three differentials with the correct lubricants. Whilst in our vendor's ownership, it has formed part of a small JDM collection attending the odd car show and trips to the MOT station always without any advisories. The correct colour wheels have been refurbished and fitted with new Bridgestone Potenzas and the Brembo brake callipers have been refreshed in the correct colour.

Importantly, this lovely Tommi Mäkinen remains as it left the factory with original underside factory primer finish and is surely a must for any collector or enthusiast.