A roundhouse kick to the kidneys, accidentally getting in between Consulting Editor Colin Yong and the buffet line, being run over by a bull, or three, in Pamplona, or what astronauts sat atop of the monstrous old Saturn 5 rockets felt in the first few seconds on their way to the moon.

As you can probably tell, it's a bit difficult to accurately describe the sort of punch the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX delivers, and really, the best way to get an accurate idea is to blag a ride in one.

As any car enthusiast worth his salt knows, Mitsubishi's steroidal Evolution versions of the company's otherwise unassuming Lancer sedans are the stuff of boy racer dreams. Each iteration, and we're currently up to IX, has packed more firepower and technology per dollar than just about anything else you can buy.

Two variants used to be available; the GSR and the arguably rawer GT. The former is no longer on Cycle & Carriage's price lists, but happily for the purists, the cheaper, no-frills GT still is.

The GT you see here has been firehosed with a variety of Ralliart go-faster bits, but most importantly, power is up to 320bhp, from the officially rated 280bhp, thanks to the addition of a Ralliart engine control unit.

DRIVING IT

The best thing you can say about the Evo is that is totally redefines your perception of what constitutes a great driver's car. There is no gap in traffic that you cannot magically fill, thanks to telepathic steering response and the mind-numbing punch from the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. Once you have the engine on the boil, the car simply reacts, there's no slack, no hesitancy to the way it goes and in this respect it humbles sports cars costing three times the price.

The ride isn't as uncompromising as you might think. The GT doesn't get the GSR?s trick Bilstein dampers but progress is far from teeth-rattling. In fact, i?s very composed, even at low speeds. The car we tested did suffer from a clutch with a high, and very vague, biting point, probably due to the wholly understandable exuberance of other drivers, but it wasn't too difficult to get used to.

The GT also gets a five-speed gearbox, with a notchy but precise action, as opposed to the GSR's six speed unit, but there's so much torque, you hardly miss the extra ratio. That said, on an extended expressway cruise, you'd probably quickly wish there was one.

The GT also does away with the GSR's sophisticated active yaw control, making do with a more hardcore limited slip differential. It does, however, come with the same active centre differential, with settings for 'tarmac', 'gravel' and 'snow'. These settings determine the degree of the locking action you get from the centre differential. On normal roads, 'tarmac' basically means more oversteer, and 'snow', safe, stabilising understeer.

If you have the cojones, and I don't, you can more easily unstick the GT's tail than you can the Velcro-like GSR's. The technique involves unsettling the car with sharp steering input, and booting it. There's initial understeer but this eventually gives way to an acute angled drift. There's too much traction to get really sideways, but still, it's plenty dramatic.

INSIDE IT

The less said about the interior the better, as more than anything else, it suggests that the Evo was purposefully designed to live a short, but exceedingly violent life. The plastics are agricultural, with everything feeling brittle to the touch. The interior of our test GT had been given some embellishment by way of a powerful stereo setup, complete with subwoofers and amplifiers in the boot but there's no disguising the dated cabin.

The Recaro seats are superb, though, luxuriously upholstered in mock suede and very supportive. Boot space in this particular GT takes a beating because of the housing for the subwoofers and amps, but you don't buy this car for load lugging ability. Still, for the more practical-minded hooligan, Cycle and Carriage does have plans to bring in an Evo estate variant.

DOLLARS AND SENSE

At $126,988 with COE, the Evo IX 320 is a steal, that much is certain. Okay, it has a terrible interior and the looks constantly invite traffic light challenges from deluded drivers in far lesser machinery, but underneath all that lies genuine substance.

It's also rumoured that Mitsubishi loses money on each Evo sold simply because of the huge research, development and manufacturing costs involved, so you can't really ask for better than that.

CONCLUSION

The Evo is the automotive equivalent of burning the candle at both ends, with two blowtorches. It's frenetic, furiously quick, and rather than burying or diluting the driving experience, all that tech makes you think you're a much better driver than you actually are. In terms of outright pace, grip and handling appeal, you'd probably have to stretch to a half million dollar sports car to come even close. And these aspects all make living with the interior and the aggressive looks no hardship at all.

-supercar pace, flatters even really terrible drivers
-dated, and brittle-feeling interior

Verdict

for the money, nothing else comes close

NEED TO KNOW

Model Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 320
Engine 1,997cc, 16v in-line 4
Max Power 320bhp
Max Torque Plenty. Take our world for it
Gearbox 5-speed manual
Top Speed 250km/h
0-100 km/h 5.0 seconds
Price $125,988,000 with COE
Warranty 1 years / 200,000km
Contact Cycle & Carriage Automotive Pte Ltd at 6473-9722

SIMILAR CARS WE HAVE DRIVEN

Subaru WRX STi 2.5 $111,000 with COE
The 280bhp STi is an old-school rally rocket, and delivers one of the most physically involving driving experiences available. It's also got a better interior than the Evo's.

Mazda 6 MPS 2.3 $119,988 with COE
If you're looking for something a lot more refined, but with plenty of punch, the MPS is well worth a look. It's also much stealthier than the others here.