Long before the term "rally car" caught on here in the US, thousands of turbocharged, all-wheel drive monsters prowled the streets of Japan, wreaking havoc on racetracks and dominating rallies around the world.
Perhaps the most renowned warrior rolled out of Mitsubishi's Mizushima plant in 1992, dubbed the "Lancer Evolution." Barely more than an excuse to sell the 2500 cars required to compete in the World Rally Championship, the road going version was every bit the hard core racecar that Mitsubishi intended to compete with.
Due to the ultra-competitive nature of the WRC, the car saw three evolutions in just three short years. In 1995, the Evolution III was released to the public, the first EVO to have a gigantic wing atop its decklid, a direct result of ever-increasing speeds on tarmac stages of the WRC.
The car tipped the scales at just under 2800 pounds and came stock with 266 boosted ponies under the hood.
In many ways, the EVO III is still the EVO to have. It weighs almost 500 pounds less than its modern day counterpart, the EVO VIII, and has essentially the same stout 4G63 powerplant and all-wheel drive.
Regardless of whether or not you agree, Brian Fujita, owner of a performance shop called Drift Speed in Westminster, California, knew it was the car for him. After spending more than a year trying to convince himself that he could pretend to be a rally car driver while behind the wheel of his Mitsubishi Mirage, a frustrated Fujita knew he had to have the real thing.
Having found an exceptionally clean example across the Pacific Ocean, Brian began plotting modifications before the container could hit US shores. Being the owner of a performance shop makes the process quite a bit easier than it is for the average bear, especially when modifying a car that never existed this side of Mt. Fuji.
Making the most of his aftermarket connections, Brian opted to replace the aging factory suspension with a coilover setup from KEI Office, a brand unique to the island and notorious on its many racetracks.
After setting the fastest lap time of all the old-school cars at Willow, it's clear that the suspension was just what the doctor ordered.
Keeping with the "hard to get" theme that began when he imported a car that was rare enough on its home island and nonexistent in the US, Brian ordered up some rotors from Endless, coupled with pads from Project Mu. It doesn't take much to bring the 2,800 pound car to a halt, and Brian reports that this setup is more than up to the task.
This particular EVO is no stranger to the dusty mountainside that hides the long corners of Willow Springs in its shadow. Brian and the guys at Driftspeed spend much time setting up both weekend track rats as well as their drift cars at Willow. To his disappointment, Brian was unable to get his hands on some last minute track day rubber, so the EVO went out on grocery getter tires. Ok, not grocery getter tires, but pretty close compared to the R-compound donuts he could have used. Shod with 17x7.5-inch Gram Lights 57C wheels and Falken Ziex 502 rubber, the little rally car still managed to race around the mountain in 1 minute and 39 seconds.
There are more ways to modify Mitsubishi's immensely popular 4G63 than there are Big Mac wrappers in a cop car. But despite the plethora of goodies available to him, Brian decided not to fix what wasn't broken, keeping his modifications simple, in an effort to retain the everyday usability of the EVO.
By James Tate
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