2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR RS (Japan)

VIII MR RS combines the MR development programme with the factory RS specification. The domestic record set contains 91 five-speed and 19 six-speed cars; both transmission groups are consolidated in this one profile.

Where the VIII MR RS fits

The CT9A sedan belongs to the established turbocharged, four-wheel-drive Evolution lineage. Within that body family, Mitsubishi supplied different factory grades with different equipment priorities. A grade name is therefore meaningful only when it is attached to the correct generation, date and market. This profile follows the Japanese specification and does not silently merge export-market grades that happen to use familiar Evolution badges.

Mitsubishi original Japanese factory brochure (digitised original)

Engine and transmission reference

The VIII MR programme retains the turbocharged 4G63 architecture preceding the IX’s MIVEC introduction. Its RS catalogue includes five- and six-speed manual alternatives. Both belong here, with 91 and 19 Japanese records respectively. Avoid carrying later IX engine descriptions into an VIII MR record simply because the cars share a CT9A body family. The 280 PS period rating is a specification reference, not a present-day rolling-road result.

Mitsubishi original Japanese factory brochure (digitised original)

Design and grade identification

The familiar sedan silhouette can make different CT9A specifications appear interchangeable in photographs. Record the model information before relying on the wing, wheels, seats or badges. MR-specific construction and suspension claims need documents or inspection appropriate to the car. The included photo caption states whether the image is an identified grade or a family reference, and visible modifications remain part of the photographed example rather than a factory specification claim.

How many are recorded?

110 Japanese-market catalogue records in JDM Catalogues’ independently compiled ASA/CAPS-derived dataset for this factory grade. This is not a manufacturer-announced production cap, an audited completed worldwide production total or a survivor count. The record is kept separate from other factory grades and from the earlier or later MR phase. Adding it to a broader generation figure without reconciling scope would count some cars twice. The number supports this explicitly domestic grade record; it does not establish the quantity supplied to every country.

JDM Catalogues: independent ASA/CAPS-derived Japanese record counts

Documentation for an individual car

For an RS, obtain the complete original model information and the correct dated equipment chart. Competition preparation may replace seats, differentials, body parts and safety equipment. Preserve that preparation history as a second layer of provenance, with event records where available. A competition logbook can document use, but it does not by itself prove that the road-car shell began as the factory RS grade.

What makes this specification worth studying

VIII MR RS combines the MR development programme with the factory RS specification. The domestic record set contains 91 five-speed and 19 six-speed cars; both transmission groups are consolidated in this one profile. Compare the related profiles by transmission, body and factory grade before comparing headline quantities. A smaller recorded group is not automatically a better preserved or more original car. The research value lies in understanding what Mitsubishi offered and how accurately a surviving example retains that configuration.

Specification and identity reference

Rarity and production scope

110 Japanese-market catalogue records in JDM Catalogues’ independently compiled ASA/CAPS-derived dataset for this factory grade. This is not a manufacturer-announced production cap, an audited completed worldwide production total or a survivor count.

What the photograph represents

Evolution VIII GSR generation reference. This is not an authenticated MR RS and does not illustrate its specific equipment.

Comparisons and related profiles

Continue through these connected Mitsubishi records, each with its own factory identity and production scope.

• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR (Japan)
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR RS (Japan)

Frequently asked questions

Is the rarity figure a worldwide production total?

110 Japanese-market catalogue records in JDM Catalogues’ independently compiled ASA/CAPS-derived dataset for this factory grade. This is not a manufacturer-announced production cap, an audited completed worldwide production total or a survivor count.

How should an individual example be authenticated?

Match the complete original model information to the appropriate dated documentation, then record the present condition and modifications separately. A badge, colour scheme or stripped interior alone is insufficient evidence of a factory grade.

Sources and further reading

1. Mitsubishi original Japanese factory brochure (digitised original)
2. JDM Catalogues: independent ASA/CAPS-derived Japanese record counts

Research checked 15 October 2026. Factory literature, independent EPC-derived records and photographic evidence are identified separately. Design readings and documentation guidance are editorial interpretation.