The Pike's Peak International Hill Climb is one of the world's most-famous hill climb and rally-style racing events. Each year, some of the greatest drivers and machines gather outside of Colorado Springs, Colo., to try and get to the top of the hill the fastest. The contest has spawned such monsters as the purpose-built Suzuki Escudo, and in recent years, it has hosted SCCA open class rally cars such as the Subaru WRX and the Mitsubishi Evo. With sheer cliff drops, extreme altitude changes from 9,300 feet to 14,110 feet, big competition, and dirt and clock challenges, Pike's Peak is no walk in the park.
Pike's Peak was revitalized thanks to its inclusion on the SCCA Pro-Rally Championship calendar and title sponsorship by Falken Tires; it has never seen so much action. It is within the Group-N ranks that Falken Tires sponsors this Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII. Designed and driven by Masayuki Akaba and co-driven by his wife Takako Akaba, this Evo competes in both the Pike's Peak climb and the All Japan Dirt Trial Championship series.
Many who casually view the World Rally Championship mistakenly believe that only the widely powerful and heavily modified World Rally Car class cars featured on TV compete in the WRC. But below the radical WRC-class rally cars are the cars that run under Group-N rules. As mandated by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), Group-N rules specifically denote which modifications are allowed on the cars in an attempt to keep the cars close to stock and the competition fierce.
Similar in concept to the SCCA showroom-stock type production classes, the FIA's Group-N class is the reason that street rockets like the Impreza WRX STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution exist. Open and WRC-class cars need not match the street cars they are based on and are allowed such extensive modifications as sequential transmissions and anti-lag systems. But if a Group-N or Production racecar wants such advantages as electronic center differentials, powerful turbocharged engines and stiff shells, then the factory version must be similarly equipped. Be thankful for Group-N.
Having driven the touge and having participated in mountain drifting for years before becoming a test driver with TEIN in 1998, Akaba knows a thing or two about setting up a car. Even more specifically, having driven various incarnations of the Lancer Evo for years, Akaba knows how to set up the mighty Mitsubishi. He evens says, "I personally think that the Lancer Evo is the best [car] for private competitors."