The Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart Version-R Was A Baby Evo

We must confess, we didn’t realise Mitsubishi was still wheeling out Ralliart for its current models. Partly because the Japanese manufacturer no longer operates in the UK, but mostly because nothing it offers elsewhere in Europe (or frankly, anywhere else in the world at this point) is really of interest to us.

Not that we’re too sad to be missing out. Ralliart has been relegated to accessory packs for the various hybrid SUVs and rebadged Renaults that Mitsubishi sells, offering no performance benefits and instead just tacky bodykits and decals. It once stood for something proper, as this curious Colt attests to.

Now, you may already be familiar with the Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart. This was a warmed-up version of the facelifted Z30 Colt, powered by a 147bhp, 1.5-litre turbocharged four-pot engine. In a front-driven car weighing just over a tonne, and with that power sent through a manual gearbox, it was a tasty recipe in its own right. Yet, it wasn’t even the most exciting version of the hatch.

Before that came the JDM-only Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart Version-R. Introduced in 2006 (three years before the globally available Ralliart), this used the same 4G15 found in that car, only with a little more power, still with 152bhp on tap.

This wasn’t just big engine, little car, though. Front and rear strut braces came as standard to stiffen the chassis, as did some fancier dampers.

It wasn’t designed to fly under the radar, either. Its cutesy-aggro body kit gave a hint at its performance credentials, while the bonnet vent is pure Lancer Evo VIII cosplay. It also nabbed the Recaro bucket seats from the Evo to round that look out.

Things got even more special with the later-introduced, err, Special. That took power to 161bhp along with some extra seam welding around the chassis. It’s hard to pin down exactly how many of these were made, but various sources suggest anywhere from 300 to 500 left the factory.

Given that the Colt Version-R was A) quite a niche thing and B) never officially sold in the UK, they seldom come up for sale on our shores. It’s not unheard of, though – at the time of writing, we’ve spotted two (albeit one of them an auto), with the manual car at £8500. That’s a lot of cash for a 20-year-old Mitsubishi Colt, but a very cool one at that.