GTP Cool Wall: 2003-2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR

[miata13B]

View attachment 357970








Almost all of the interior (especially for the US Evo, which didn't have all of the equipment the non-US models did):

Except the seats, the trunk brace and whatever optional equipment you got on your Evo that wasn't available on the equivalent Lancer. Any exterior panel that doesn't line up with the wider fenders is also identical. This includes all of the glass, the trunk lid (spoiler excepting), the front doors and the mirrors. The roof panels are the same, unless you got one of the Evos with the aluminum roofs; but they will still swap directly anyway. And the list of things that will swap with each other basically extends to the entire exterior, a lot of which already has the proper mounts built in for the Evo parts versus the Lancer parts, just unused. The drivetrain, suspension and engine are the main things that you can't easily transfer over, and the engine can be done if you have certain models (like the OZ or the Ralliart).

I know I am butting into this debate, which has been great, I do not even care if my 0.02 is put in here. The "Ralliart Lancer" which is the pic of the rear end of the Cedia in your picture shares more body form to the Evolution 7 then the US first introduction Evolution 8 in America. It may share interior bits with the Evo 8, it may share some driveline bits with the Evo 8 also, but it is not an Evolution, it is not even comparable to what Subaru did with the STI and WRX from the same years. It was a sorry excuse of Mitsubishi trying to compete with Subaru in America.

I do not know these cars outside of the US, but I do know that if the "Lancer" and "Evolution" are being discussed in this thread pertaining to the Evolution 8 MR, the 'Cedia' or 'Lancer' hold nothing but being a horrible entry level car of Mitsubishi to play off the Evolution 7 body (it might or might not be able to be modified to an AWD setup) in a day of the Evolution 8 while the SRT-4, and RSX Type-S (I know the latest Integra in '99 was better) along with the Mazdaspeed Protege (Should have thought out the engine better), Nissan Sentra SER (Not the OG SER) were the market FWD champs in America.

I hate to say apples an oranges, but the Cedia/Lancer should not be brought up when dealing with the Evolution whatever. Two completely different animals.

 

[JR98]

View attachment 357970

But the word Cedia is much more legible than the Lancer on that car. The Cedia is clearly written on the boot/trunk and the word Lancer is a tiny badge that would only be recognizable if you were really up close to it.

 

[Famine]

But the word Cedia is much more legible than the Lancer on that car. The Cedia is clearly written on the boot/trunk and the word Lancer is a tiny badge that would only be recognizable if you were really up close to it.

That's not quite as relevant as the fact it doesn't seems to be standard on all Cedias and it's identical to the Lancer badge on the Evolution but absent from Lancer-badged non-Japanese cars.

Which makes me wonder if the Lancer Cedia was a trim level of the Cedia, as in Lancer Evolution > Lancer Cedia > Cedia...

 

[JR98]

That's not quite as relevant as the fact it doesn't seems to be standard on all Cedias and it's identical to the Lancer badge on the Evolution but absent from Lancer-badged non-Japanese cars.

Which makes me wonder if the Lancer Cedia was a trim level of the Cedia, as in Lancer Evolution > Lancer Cedia > Cedia...

After a quick search I have found out that it was marketed as the Lancer ES in America and was the entry level Lancer.

 

[Famine]

After a quick search I have found out that it was marketed as the Lancer ES in America and was the entry level Lancer.

That's also not relevant. We're talking about the JDM car.

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

If we were talking about Subarus (older GC8s in particular), the 'econobox' label would somewhat work. The WRXs were otherwise identical to the regular plain-jane Imprezas (still AWD, most were still 2.0 litres in engine size) apart from a turbo engine unit, suspension/brake work, sporty seats, steering wheel and a revised aero package. You could turn a run-of-the-mill 2.0 litre GX model Impreza wagon into a WRX or even an STI if you really wanted to, as it is still the same car underneath and it will all bolt up without any issues or penalty*.

The Evo is not the same car underneath as a bog standard Lancer/Cedia/Mirage however. Evos have a far wider track to accommodate the AWD system, bigger front guards for the engine components and most likely a heap of chassis tweaks for better performance. Whilst the basic silhouette remains the same as a U.S. spec Lancer/Cedia and a good chunk of its parts bin are used (interior for instance), there are so many changes that would have been made it really doesn't constitute a Lancer at all.

Even though Japan most likely had an AWD Cedia (after all, they offer AWD variants of just about anything in Japan), I can guarantee that it would be a nightmare trying to use Evo components on to one. To be honest, the only Evos that would probably come close would be the first three Evos, and even then only an AWD version would be really comparable.

The 'Lancer' tag was purely for marketing back when they started rallying it; they shoehorned all their tech into a Lancer body but only because it was a decent sized shell and chassis for what they needed as well as being a new car they could gain publicity with. Not because the Lancer itself had good tech to start out with. As Famine rightly pointed out, Mitsubishi had no qualms slapping a Carisma badge on the few Euro-spec Evos, simply because the V and VI had Carisma-esque taillights. Really, the car its supposedly 'based on' has no difference in what it ultimately is, as its a far cry from what its 'supposed' to be.

This all sounded far better in my head, but eh, thought I'd throw in my 2 pence.

*Though in fairness, almost every Subaru is like this. SVX, BRAT, Impreza, Forester, Legacy, Outback; they can all accept parts from each other with barely any modification.