Alex Wacker had not seen a fully show-bred Evo when he started his pilgrimage of perfection. "It was always about the go-fast parts, which I have already done far too well and I have the speeding tickets to prove it. I wanted it all-show mods with the go one would expect from an Evo," says Alex, who hails from the Lone Star state. With such lofty inspirations his Evo project would not be a point-A-to-point-B, connect the dots, slam dunk deal. "The flow took forever," says Alex. "I have rebuilt this car four times to forge it into a show winner."
"The first go around, I had every bolt-on turbo part," says Alex. "I mean everything except for the bottom end. I had the car re-painted, added custom wheels, a trick suspension, some stereo equipment and some other mods, but judges told me that I hadn't done a damn thing to it. That's when I knew I had to go all-or-nothing but build it the way I wanted it to be."
At first glance, the 2003 Mitsubishi conjures images of Panda-style Toyota Levin/Truenos of old. The good-versus-evil, black-and-white color scheme is a true classic but in this updated rendition, all the black is carbon fiber. The black hood, canards, front lip spoiler, rear wing, wheel treatments and roster side graphics deliver a high-contrast, aggressive aura. This bark is backed by a grille full of intercooler and a hunkered stance, compliments of an awe-inspiring, wide-body metamorphosis and a stout HKS Hipermax II suspension.
Body equals soul for a show-targeted vehicle. To attain the purest Nirvana possible, Alex raided the parts bin at APR Performance starting with the ultimate mod, an all-encompassing wide body kit. Firing for effect, a GT-300 carbon-fiber wing, canards and mirror were also part of the take while a Gialla carbon-fiber hood and Lancer Evolution VII taillamps round out the body tuning scheme.
Wheels are another key element to impressing finicky show judges, and Alex went full custom on his Evo. He engaged DAZZ Motorsports and ordered a set of one-off 18x10.5 Racing Hart wheels for the Mitsubishi. The dark centers and polished lip of the trick Harts are a perfect framework for the upgraded Brembo drilled rotors and stock Evo/Brembo calipers. The Evo's aggressive stance is created by HKS Hipermax II coilovers that work in conjunction with Cusco sway bars and strut braces to stabilize the car against lateral g-forces.
The Evo's 4G63 provides an awesome opportunity to both please the show crowd and make prodigious power for the street crowd. What jumps out from under the hood is the Blue-By-You valve cover sitting where you would expect to see a red one. This left jab is followed up with a mean right cross in the form of the exposed turbo, a GReddy T67 attached to a ceramic-coated header. The T67 is a nice 'middleweight' turbo that delivers added top end power without killing response. On the hot side, a ceramic-coated, three-inch downpipe leads to a GReddy Evo 2 exhaust originally made for an Evo VII. The three-inch system was re-fitted to work on an Evo VIII. The remainder of the well-balanced turbo attack consists of a Power Enterprise intercooler with an HKS piping kit and an HKS SSQ blow-off valve.
The cylinder head has been fortified with HKS 272-degree cams, HKS adjustable cam gears and Tomei valvetrain components that conspire to ensure long hours of high-revolution fun.
Proper fuel enrichment has been addressed with a Perrin fuel rail that's home to720cc/min injectors and a Walbro 255lph fuel pump, while an Altronics O2 Alert ECU oversees the fuel and timing parameters. The engine was tuned by Alamo Autosports in Arlington, Texas where it laid down 433 wheel hp and 392 lb-ft of torque. Alex, covering one of the Evo's Achilles' heel spots, was wise to install an Exedy triple-plate clutch and an Exedy lightweight flywheel.
Other upgrades consist of an HKS Racing intake, a Power Enterprise radiator and carbon-fiber cooling panel, a Zex wet-manifold nitrous system, Nitrous Express intercooler spray bar kit, GReddy catch can and a custom engine panel.