One of the last Mitsubishi Evos has sold for much money

Mitsubishi has made its last bunch of Lancer Evolutions. If you’re like us, this will make you sad. But a pick-me-up might just arrive with the news that one of the very last has just bestowed a couple of charities with much money.

The Lancer Evolution Final Edition – no. 1,600 of a 1,600-strong run for the American market – was being auctioned online in the US, and the winning bid came in at $76,400. That equates to nigh on £60,000, with all the proceeds of its sale going to a pair of charities fighting hunger.

While the UK’s end-of-line Evo X was a 440bhp madcap special, the US got something slightly tamer, in the form of the 303bhp Final Edition. It still has a highly wound-up 2.0-litre turbo engine, four-wheel drive and much differential-based magic, of course, while its gearbox is a nice traditional manual.

What comes next for the Lancer Evo is as yet unknown. Mitsubishi’s new focus on hybrid models means it could reinvent itself as a petrol-electric performance car, while others have speculated it will die completely. Either way, picking up one of the last to be produced could prove a sage move for its generous bidder, as well as rather good for their karma score...