Evo Orgy: RHYS Millen Racing

Mashing the gas on the RMR EVO, we're again reminded how unique every machine is. The transition to boost in this car is about as subtle as Chris Rock at a prayer breakfast. But once on boost, shifts at redline keep the engine on song. Huge power (376 at the wheels, according to the dyno) make this EVO accelerate as quickly as anything here except the TODA car.

Balance is better in the RMR car than anything so far, but it still didn't feel dialed like we want. There is something missing. Maybe it's strange turn-in, maybe it's some lack of tactile feedback. Maybe it's that Rhys Millen himself didn't have time to set it up before our test. Our biggest problem are the Sparco Torinos, which were mounted so low, we couldn't see out of the car.

Either way, the demons of amorphous handling quirks are here. But, after a quick in-cockpit damper adjustment to stiffen things, it laps in 59.12 seconds--a respectable third quickest.

But it hated the dragstrip. Hard launches in these cars require just enough clutch slip to keep the engine from bogging, but not so much as to turn the friction material to molten, stinking sludge. That happy medium wasn't possible here. Exedy's single-disc clutch protested this abuse by slipping throughout every pass, but it did manage the road course without incident. Ever seen a 12-second car run a 14-second quarter mile? You have now.

Still, inside and outside this EVO looks right. There are carbon dive planes on the nose and a carbon wickerbill along the edge of the rear wing--details that set this car out from the crowd. There's even a clean bolt-in cage, which fits well and has quick-release pins on the rear braces to accommodate four people. Details, details, details.

Total Time: 59.12 sec.