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.
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| 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...
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| Still in one piece on the first day, 1997 Rally NZ (Mitsubishi) |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
Podiums: 1
Retirements: 3
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