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With the 6's third birthday looming I decided to go looking at new vehicles. The Porsche 911 was the logical answer but with a Turbo out of my price range and the C4S just simply not quick enough things were looking bleak. A trip to my Mitsi dealer (MOT time) lead to my finding out about a limited run 400 horsepower evo 8. Though about it (for about 2 hours I seem to recall) and ordered the car purely on spec. Silly thing to do some may say but having enjoyed the way the 6 had performed and the way Mitsi had looked after me I just couldnt hold back.
The order was placed in August 2004. The car arrived at Ralliart in Jan 2005 (as an FQ 320). I picked up the full fat FQ400 version in March 2005. Immediately all my excitement was curtailled as I was subjected to a 1500mile running in period with the ecu restricting the revs to 4,000 rpm - and it doesnt come on boost till 4,500 !!!
A couple of months later the first service was performed and I headed to pick up the car in my friends 350bhp evo 7. On the way home we lined up on a clear dual carriageway and for the first time I fully opened the throttle - holly fcuk
- and found myself having to slow down and wait for the 7 !!! Dont get me wrong I been in faster cars (RK Tuning's Skyline being the quickest in my opinion) but when your actually at the controls and its your car - wow, what a feeling. At that point I was 100% sure I'd purchased the correct car for me.Getting used to all that power, how its delivered and the blooming clutch took me another couple of months and it wasnt until the 4500 mile service mid-summer 2005 that I was fully confident with the car. Power aside I was beginning to appreciate the nicer interior and ride the newer car had. The handling of an MR based evo is much nicer plus the xenon lights are great and the brakes (the biggest flaw of the 6), well more impressive than the speed in my book.
Couple of days after the service and after an evening at gangsta's house the ecu goes into safe mode on the drive home. This turned into a farce to get fixed as the only company with the software was Owen Developments on Oxford. Mitsubishi seemed to be stalling my dealer from sending the car there and it wasnt until a phonecall threatening to reject the car by myself was made to a Mitsubishi UK director that action was taken, and pritty swiftly too - but why did it have to come to this, grrrr.
When the car returned from Owen's it was running fantastically - the ecu had been re-programmed and the car rolling roaded to ensure it was running its full 400 bhp. At this time I decided to see just how fast I could get the thing to go - Vmax at Bruntingthorpe 168mph, 0 - 60 at Donny South car show in 4.07secs. These figures confirmed to me that the car really could move - and its still standard - cat and all !!!
After the summer the car was used less and less but the gearbox was complaining more and more until it finally let go in 4th gear and was limped back to my dealer. This is where Mitsi customer services got their reputation back in my book. New box supplied and fitted under warranty, no questions asked within a week - first class and really cheared me up as the gearbox going took the shine off the car for a while I'd have to say. Still recon the first box had a fault, the new one feels spot on and has no problems going into first or reverse no matter the temperature. Excellent stuff - thanks Mitsubishi.
Really that takes us to last weekend's RR day where the car dealt with all the driving - some 500miles in 2 days - without once complaining and proved on the rollers it does exactly what it says on the tin. Now its 9k service time and then a good spruce up and hopefully another year of fantastic motoring.
The 400 is starting to have a special place for me now - the initial slating of the car seems to have died down, the gremlins (touch wood) seem to have been cured for now and I just cant see another car i'd prefer to own. Therefore, I think the car will be around for a little while longer, at least until the warranty runs out. During the next 12 months I'd like to get the car on track and find out how all this SAYC,4WD stuff works because I'm sure there's much more to the car than just straight line speed.
There we go i'm sure ive missed loads of stuff out but thats what I remeber of my first year with the 400. A car with a number of flaws which frustrate at the time but a car which I just could not see myself without and which I just love to bits.
Next report due March 2007
but can't afford one 
