2008 Evolution X GSR - Japan's Fastest EVO

The handling and braking side of the project was taken care of by Fukuda-san of Sunbeam, a respected suspension specialist working out of a small shop in central Tokyo. Custom-valved Spirit Racing dampers were chosen for the application and coupled to KYB springs front and rear. Ralliart stiffened bushings help take the slack out of the links, promoting more precise and communicative feel through the steering wheel.

The braking was hardly going to be left stock with this amount of performance on tap, so Fukuda-san called up Endless and got them to send over their top of the line Monobloc calipers, 6-pots for the front and 4-pots in the rear. These are joined by floating two-piece discs all round, slotted with the recognizable Endless "E" mark. Sunbeam uses Volk Racing TE37 wheels for their amazing strength and low rotating mass, plus you really can't argue with the way bronze Volks look against a white body! The 18x10.5-inch rims are shod in new Advan A050 semi-slick tires that measure 265/35R18 all around. The last piece of the puzzle was left up to Varis to take care of, and by the looks of the car, Varis did it in its usual abundance of carbon style. Everywhere you look, there are superbly crafted carbon-fiber pieces, helping shave off unnecessary weight from critical areas of the car like the hood, doors and trunk. The rear doors are actually made of one single piece of carbon fiber and weigh in at less than 10 lbs each. The front doors use a lexan window riveted onto the CF door to also drop enormous amounts of weight over the stock counterparts. The aero kit is a new release from Varis, which includes the front bumper and side skirts while the massive GT wing and the underskirt diffuser are available as add-ons.

Functionality is the key word in the interior, the raw semi-dry carbon inside finish of the doors reminding you this is not your regular tuned street car. Recaro buckets and Takata belts offer the support needed to hold the driver in while instrumentation is kept simple, thanks to the addition of a Racepack IQ3 data logger, which joins the HKS EVC boost controller and HKS cam timing module. A nice touch is the stock S-AWC controller clipped onto one of the spokes of the Nardi steering wheel, allowing Taniguchi full control of the preset modes of Mitsubishi's 4WD system.

Building a successful time attack car is far from easy, but by combining forces Varis, G-Force and Sunbeam have created the perfect showcase for their skills and products. This EVO X is a car enthusiasts can relate to, which aside from the unquestionable skills of Taniguchi, has no prohibitively expensive prototype parts that help make it so extremely capable around Tsukuba. You, too, can build this car-just be prepared to open up your pocket book.