2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Road Test

Ralliart is Mitsubishi's skunk works tuner division. Like SVT (Ford) or AMG (Mercedes-Benz), the Ralliart team is responsible

The Ralliart team is responsible for churning out some of the world's most capable race cars, despite being crafted from humdrum daily drivers. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

for churning out some of the world's most capable race cars, despite being crafted from humdrum daily drivers. Their no-mercy attitude towards winning has netted the Ralliart-engineered Lancer Evolution one manufacturer's title and four driver's titles in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). Mention Ralliart in the same sentence as 'Paris-Dakar' within earshot of a rally sport enthusiast and you will hear no end about Mitsubishi's victories with their Pajero Evolution, a highly modified three-door version of its Montero SUV. In recent years, and as far as I can remember, Mitsubishi has taken home something to put on its mantle from this gruesome cross-continental adventure.

But to most North Americans, Ralliart has little to no meaning, and for that matter neither does Lancer in comparison to names like Corolla and Civic. In order to lift the car's nonexistent image onto the radar screens of potential buyers, Mitsubishi came to the conclusion that it had little to lose and much to prove and decided to build a proper sport compact

The Lancer Ralliart is not a cut-price Evolution, an important fact which some people fail to note. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

- a critical decision in a market that targets the spirited driver.

But there's more to understand about the Lancer Ralliart. First of all, it is not a cut-price Evolution, a major fact which people fail to note. Expect this, and you will be sorely disappointed, but that's because this isn't the car's purpose. Mitsubishi wanted to reinforce its image of building spirited, fun-to-drive machines, like it did with the original DSM cars (Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, etc.). The main goal, instead, was too eat into the burgeoning sport compact market, and build up an image of a compact sedan that can tear apart "sporty" rivals such as the Civic SiR hatch, Cavalier Z24, Sentra SE-R and company.