"Introducing the MIVEC engine; the easier to handle 9th generation Lancer Evo."
For a fan of the Lancer Evo, one of the major topics of the EVO IX was the abandoning of the "Boulay" style front fascia for a more conventional style. Internally speaking, many components developed for the EVO IX had already been introduced in advance of the EVO VIII, and did not make a major impression.

The engine was additionally equipped with MIVEC in order to give it more torque, but the version introduced here did not vary valve lift as in other previous systems, and only changed the opening phase of the intake side. This improved torque in the low rpm range, and the reasoning for this was mainly due to the Japanese car industry's self imposed output restriction. With maximum power already topped out at the 276 HP limit, improving torque was the only way to raise engine performance; however, this actually turned out for the better as it made the Lancer Evo easier to handle despite its extreme performance.

In the EVO IX, a new "GT" grade model was also added, positioned between the road car GSR and motorsports base car RS grade models....