P4 MRE

P4 MRE has a very intersting story... quite like T22 MMR or X33 MMR, and yet not really. She made her debut with Mäkinen in Argentina 1997, and the pairing was immediately successful, as they won the rally.

1997 Rally Argentina (Mitsubishi)

Her next event turned out to be her last one: the Smokefree Rally New Zealand, again with Mäkinen. He had tough luck in NZ at that time, and unfortunately 1997 didn't turn out to be different: in heavy rain, he crashed so badly that the car was like a hatchback after it...

Still in one piece on the first day, 1997 Rally NZ (Mitsubishi)

And after the crash, Rally New Zealand 1997 (Classic Rally instagram)

1998
For 1998, Ralliart Germany got a new/another chassis with P4 MRE numberplates (I think it's impossible that they rebuilt a badly crashed Evo IV for a subsidiary team when the V was already almost debuting...) for Uwe Nittel's second WRC campaign in factory machinery.
They started the program in Monte-Carlo, and spent most of the time getting Nittel accustomed to the car. In the end, they finished 7th - not in the points, but still decent.

Rallye Monte-Carlo 1998 (Mitsubishi)

Next up was the Swedish Rally, which wasn't Nittel's strongest one. Despite this, he and Didier Auriol fought until the last stage to decide 6th place; Nittel lost, but it was still an encouraging performance on a very difficult event.

Rally Sweden 1998 (Mitsubishi)

They missed the Safari Rally (quite understandably), and returned on the Rally de Portugal. They were 11th after the first day, but had to give up any hopes of a strong result when a stone broke the engine mounting, forcing them into retirement.

Rally de Portugal 1998 (Mitsubishi)

Next up was a trip to Spain's Costa Brava - Rally Catalunya. The car's appearance has changed slightly, as the previous red parts were now purple. They faced a very strong opposition - not just from the WRCs, but from the increasingly faster Ki Cars as well. In the end, they did what they could with a car not so well suited for tarmac, and finished 9th - behind 6 WRCs and 3 Kit Cars.

Rally Catalunya - Costa Brava 1998 (Mitsubishi)

They missed the next two rounds - Corsica and Argentina -, and returned on the Acropolis Rally. They were 8th after the first day, and could have climbed higher on the second day, but a transmission failure forced them to retire.

Acropolis Rally 1998 (Mitsubishi)

Whereabouts
The car was likely never rebuilt after the crash in NZ, the one that Ralliart Germany got was more than likely a different chassis with the P4 numberplate. After the Acropolis, the team got an Evo V -R44 MRE- to use. This car could have been scrapped, but hopefully it is sitting in a collection somewhere.

Track record
Starts: 7
Wins: 1  

• 1997 Rally Argentina

Podiums: 1

• 1997 Rally Argentina

Retirements: 3 

• 1998 Acropolis Rally - transmission
• 1998 Rally de Portugal - engine mounting
• 1997 Rally New Zealand

P33 MRE

P33 MRE was very much like her sister P3 MRE - both were heavy gravel cars, debuted on the very same event, although their luck and fate could not be any different. As the double digits after P show, this wasn't Mäkinen's car, it belonged to Richard Burns. Their first event together was the 1997 Safari Rally, where they missed out on the win by a slight margin. But that's still a second place on the world's toughest rally!

Jumping to 2nd on the Safari (Mitsubishi)

Her next WRC event was the Rally Indonesia, which also counted for the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (Burns' main focus that year was on the APRC). The rally was eventful for the crew, but after all the difficulties Burns could secure a 4th place.

It must be interesting to drive at 200kph in the middle of a tropical jungle... (Mitsubishi)

As a heavy-gravel and long-haul car, her next appearance was at the Rally Australia. Winfield stepped in as a sponsor, so the cars were red (but not Marlboro red!). After swapping places continuously throughout the event with the first four, Burns finished in 4th place; he was a bit disappointed, but it was a great performance against his opposition consisting 4 World Champions.

In Australia, they barely missed out on a podium (Mitsubishi)

1998
She finished off her career in great style - one year after the 2nd place at the Safari, she returned to the event, again with Burns. The Lancers were the class of the field - unfortunately, P3 MRE didn't want to carry Mäkinen to the finish, but the win by the Burns/Reid/P33 trio eased the team's sadness. That's right, she won on her very last WRC rally.

En route to the win, 1998 Safari Rally (Mitsubishi)

Whereabouts
Actually, she is one of the very few Evo IVs that survived beyond their use as a Safari Rally recce car, and she was built back to original shape. She was on display and also did some doughnuts at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed, although that show-off was overshadowed by the fact that she was on display because of Richard Burns' death in late 2005; she was one of the cars that Richard drove and were on display. She is on of the cars in Andrew Cowan's private collection.

At the 2006 GFOS (fareham.org)

GFOS 2006

On display at the 2006 GFOS

Track record (WRC)
Starts: 4
Wins: 1 (1998 Safari Rally)
Podiums: 2 (1998 Safari Rally & 1997 Safari Rally)
Retirements: 0

P3 MRE

P3 MRE was one of the least used of the Evo IV branch-this is easily because she was one of the last, classic 'heavy gravel' cars; these had a very short, albeit eventful career, and so had P3. She made her debut on the 1997 Safari Rally with Tommi Mäkinen and Seppo Harjanne; however, the Finns couldn't repeat their victory from the previous year, as they had to retire on the penultimate day.

1997's Safari wasn't the best one for the car (Mitsubishi)

 Her next outing was also unique: she went from the hot, dry, rocky and dusty Kenya to the hot, wet and humid Indonesia for a little jungle-rally (not kidding, the rally literally was located in the middle of a huge jungle). This one didn't fare better that the Safari did, as another DNF could be added to the resumé because of a radiator leak.

Mäkinen couldn't extend his lead in the championship due to a broken radiator, 1997 Indonesia (Mitsubishi)

1998
P3 MRE's short career continued with one last outing on the 1998 Safari Rally. Once again, she was piloted by Mäkinen, but unfortunately their luck didn't turn with the calendar; Mäkinen had to retire with engine failure when leading the rally before his team-mate Burns.

They were the fastest, but engine truobles stopped them from winning (Mitsubishi)

Whereabouts
She was only used on 3 rallies altogether, but those included 2 Safaris and an Indonesia - so she probably suffered the same fate as other heavy-gravel cars; she was used for Safari recces over the next few years, and then scrapped. Although it is still possible she survived somewhere in Africa.

Track record
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Retirements: 3 (1997 Safari Rally & Rally Indonesia, 1998 Safari Rally)