What, exactly, is special about a Mitsubishi Evo that can run a nine-second quarter? It’s no secret that Evos are fast cars, and that with a little bit of turbo wizardry that single-digit times are perfectly capable. No, what this particular one has done is provide an inspiration for a really BangShifty idea. But first, let’s take the car on as it is: it’s an Evolution VIII, the first version to make landfall in the United States market, powered by a punched and worked over version of the 4G63T and driven out of only the back wheels by an automatic trans. Sure, with all-wheel-drive this little freak would still be wicked, but in a drag car, ditching the extra weight and driveline loss that the system is responsible for pays dividends at the far end of the strip.
Now, about those bad ideas. The 4G63 series of four-bangers were found in the Dodge/Plymouth Conquest, Dodge Ram 50, Eagle Summit, the DSM cars (Eclipse, Talon, and Laser) and is similar in size to the engine that was put into the second-gen Dodge Challenger and it’s Plymouth Sapporo twin. Curb weight of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII? Just above 3,000 pounds. The curb weight of a 1978-83 Dodge Challenger? 2,600 at it’s porkiest. Don’t mind me, just building another car in my head…
