Howdy Webriders! Dr. VW here for this weeks installment of Foreign Fridays! This week, we’ll take a look at essentially the only new car I would seriously consider purchasing off the lot. The combination of power, aesthetics, and straight shooting performance at a reasonable price get me all goosepimply. Feast your eyes on the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback by Ralliart!

First… just look at it.

Damn.

The powerful and aggressive front grill is an all grown up version of the front nose on my square, looking almost like a shark snout. The lines are sleek but bold, and everything curves or angles just right. I have never seen a modern car that pulls off both brawny and beautiful and is thoroughly original and unique compared with the cookie cutter bore-me-to-tears genericism of modern cars. The sportback is even sexier, as I have always loved retro fastback body styles, yet most cars that attempt to pull it off end up looking hideous (malibu maxx, cadillac CTS sportwagon) or like a station wagon (Subaru WRX, Dodge Magnum). This car finally gets the proportions right and is neither hatchback nor sedan, but truly a fastback. Modernize the term, and Mitsubishi’s sportback loses nothing in style compared to its sedan brother.

The Lancer (aka Evo), for years, has been the staple of the modern go-fast-for-cheap street race/tuner scene. Their rivalry with subie wrx owners is both amusing and legendary, as most people consider the two fairly similar in all but name. 2008 however brought around new body styles, and while the Subaru used to look better than the Lancer (IMO), the crown has been passed to the Lancer. Engine wise, both cars still have small yet powerful engines that get decent mileage– all the hallmarks of a good tunable import. However to me, thats really besides the point– there are plenty of cheap cars with good engines… but not that mean cheap cars with good engines and an exterior you can fall in love with.

Well thats all for this week, but go ahead and check out both the Ralliart and Non-Ralliart Galleries, as they have tons of sexy goodness. This is Dr. VW– out.