Mitsu’s Lancer Evolution X MR: Time to believe in Evolution

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That tingle down the spine? Those hairs rising on the back of the neck? That’ll be the eager anticipation of the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR.

Not long to wait. The Evo MR, the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive sports sedan with a twin-clutch, six-speed sequential transmission and a raft of driver-focused technology, will be here in June, priced at $38,290.

The Evolution has been in existence for 16 years, growing in stature and capability with each generation and honing its talents in one of the most demanding forms of motorsport: rallying. It’s where drivers possessing otherworldly car control talents whizz through forests or over mountain passes with snow, ice or mud underfoot, at triple-digit speeds, sideways.

Mitsubishi has won world rally championships with its Evolutions. These cars are a whole other driving experience: sharp, precise, eager, grippy, quick, poised, agile -- all those things and more. Hence the thrill of the newest, most sophisticated (the transmission changes gears race-car fast), most technologically advanced iteration being mere weeks away.

Since manufacturers these days are obliged to offer extra gadgets, $40,840 buys the MR with a package that includes a 30-gigabyte hard-drive navigation system/music server, a 650-watt Rockford Fosgate high-end audio system, pre-paid Sirius satellite radio and keyless entry. Even though the sound of the engine should be music enough to most enthusiasts.

-- Colin Ryan