2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 show car.
The Subaru Impreza WRX built upon the success of the Subaru’s rally car and proved a phenomenal success. Not to be out done Mitsubishi developed their own rally experience in similar fashion, and with equal success. The Lancer EVO series was continually improved and the street racers around the world were not slow to snap them up, and, to evolve them further!
The Lancer Evolution VIII was first shown at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, featuring Super Active Yaw and traction Control, ABS, Bilstein shocks, Brembo Brakes within the 17" Enkei wheels, 4WD, a whopping 276 hp engine (the 2Ltr 4G63T I4 Turbocharged unit) mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox, lightweight aluminium body panels. Internally the car had minimal trim, Recaro bucket front seats, double-din audio, aluminium gear lever knob and Momo sports steering wheel. Things like power windows, sunroof, trunk mounted subwoofer, leather seats and additional gauge packages were optional on the higher-level versions.
Of course, there were variations around the world to meet the differing legal requirements but all were very rapid and desirable. So much so that they would often sell at inflated prices much above the manufacturers guide prices. This desirability was boosted in the UK when BBCs Top Gear team tested one and “the Stig” set a damp track time that was just over a second slower than the Lamborghini Murciélago managed on a dry track! Similarly, “Evo magazine” testers lapped Bedford Autodrome in an Evo8 at times faster than the Audi RS4 and Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. Clearly very impressive performance from a saloon car.
Production of the Evo8 ran from January 2003 to March 2005 and quite a few were further enhanced by members of the street racing scene. The car was further made famous when one appeared in the film “The fast and the furious”, a franchise that has a world-wide following and further raised the standing of the Mitsubishi over the Subaru WRX and STi Imprezzas.
The Kit Conversion
Brand: AMT/ERTL 1/25th scale kit # 38512
Title: The Fast and the Furious 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII
Released in 2006 along with several other cars from the film.
The kit is a straightforward one with all the usual deficiencies of the brand, but that doesn’t mean it is bad, just needs time and attention to massage a nice model out of the loosely fitting parts. There is a fair amount of detail option from speakers in the opening boot to the half decent engine that could become the heart of a very pretty engine bay. However, all the parts suffer from the lack of crispness in moulding that we might expect from a Japanese manufacturer; that would probably bump up the cost though too. As it is, the kit has just short of 100 parts in a white/light grey plastic, clear and coloured translucent sprues as well as a chromed sprue too.
Given that the Mitsubushi Evo's are very well appreciated on the street scene, and the kit was a tribute to the ‘modding’ world, it seemed appropriate to look beyond the stock Evo VIII. It is also possible Ian simply couldn't resist the pull of the film series.
Built around 2007 this car was never meant to be a competition winning model but a refreshing change from the usual competition cars.
Ian could have gone a lot further with this build, opening out even more grills etc. and adding full engine detailing.
As it was, he did open out the bonnet grills and took inspiration from a few 'street' cars found on the internet to create something rather different from his usual sphere of model car building. The contrasting interior also has colours not usual for Ian, or Rod for that matter.
The car is painted with Halfords automotive spray paints. White plastic primer and gloss appliance white were the main colours.
Carbon fibre decals have come a long way in the past few years but there was a time when they were very basic. The other body adornments came from the spares box.
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