GIANT LEAP FORWARD; Mitsubishi's 10th-gen Evolution leaves rally roots behind.(Mitsubishi Motors Corp.)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

The 2008 Mitsubishi Evolution has taken a leap that would leave even Charles Darwin befuddled.

In a departure from the steady progression in the previous nine editions of the Evo dating back to 1992, the all-new Evo-dubbed the Evolution X in non-U.S. markets-bears little resemblance to past models, which all drew their inspiration from the car's involvement in World Rally Championship competition. Mitsubishi dropped out of the WRC at the end of the 2005 season, so even though the Evo still traces its lineage to more than three decades of rallying, the memory is already getting a little hazy.

While Evo purists no doubt will howl in pain-and competitors over at Subaru about to unleash an all-new WRX STI no doubt are grinning with glee-Mitsubishi makes no apologies for its latest interpretation of the all-wheel-drive sports sedan.

"The driving quality is more important now than on the previous car,'' says Fujii Hiroshi, a.k.a. Dr. Evo, the man who has been project engineer for the Evolution for seven years. "The quality of driving is much more sophisticated.''

Why mess with success? Hiroshi says the primary goal with the 10th-generation car was to widen the market, to make it more accessible to larger numbers of potential buyers. "I want to surprise more people in the world,'' says Hiroshi.

Based on the all-new 2008 Lancer introduced in March, the new Evolution starts out larger and stiffer in every way. For the Evo, engineers added bracing in key locations, such as behind the back seat and in the floor crossmembers to further stiffen the chassis, and strengthened steering attachment points and knuckles to improve steering precision. At the same time, lighter-weight aluminum panels replace steel in the roof, hood, front fenders and front bumper beam, and high-strength steel is used extensively to reduce mass while maintaining structural integrity. The result is an Evo that is 39 percent stiffer against twisting and 64 percent more rigid against bending.