Words: Warren Sare Photos: Glen McNamara
Let’s be honest, folks — when you see a wagon pull up next to you at the lights you generally aren’t too worried that it will dust you up; in fact, you probably almost feel sorry for the owner for having to compromise their boy racer dreams for family life. Well, if you happen to see this well-tuned weapon across from you, we suggest you think again. This machine has bad intentions, and might just be the perfect form of sleeper — if that is possible in a land that prides itself on making the unexpected fast. We’re not by any means suggesting that this ride doesn’t look menacing, but it’s a station wagon, right? Surely, it can’t be that fast. What if you could get your hands on something that shares a floor plan and DNA with Mitsubishi’s World Rally cars and give it your own little twist of the wick? “From the window line down, everything is the same,” says owner Aidan, as he explains the lure of the wagon
For him, it was love at first drive, so, when the then 17-year old was offered the opportunity to buy this particular car off a friend, he jumped at it, having always jokingly said he’d be first in line if it ever went on the market. The brief for this Evolution wagon was fairly simple; it’s built to behave like the go-karts Aidan drove competitively for a number of years, and to be as much fun as possible when Aidan is escaping the city out to Raglan or smashing out laps around upper North Island racetracks.
We asked Aidan his thoughts on the wagon versus sedans. His view is that the wagon, with more weight over the back, is a bit more stable; otherwise, it largely behaves like its WRC-pedigree cousins — and we all know how well those can go when wellprepped and with a competent driver. As with many vehicles that feature in these pages, this is a bit of a tidy-up that got out of hand. It now packs an ultra-reliable punch lap after lap. Aidan explains Evo wagons actually come with Mitsubishi’s RS-spec driveline, intended for competition, and include a six-speed gearbox and diff. However, Aidan favours what we shall call ‘spirited driving’ and replaced that with a factory five-speed box and Tilton twin plate clutch with a Manon flywheel to keep up with his right-foot tendencies and what was going to be an inevitable breakage in his mind.
When you take a look under the bonnet of this build, your eyes meet a splash of purple paint from the Rolls-Royce catalogue that nicely complements a tidy and functional bay with a near bullet-proof heart. Being in the automotive trade, Aidan researched his options and went with Marsh Motorsport.
The team assembled a combo of Manley H-beam rods and CP pistons, deleted the balance shaft, and then set about giving the head a mild port and polish that allows for the response sought.
The engine initially played host to a TD05-20G, which was good for nearly 300kW and had peak boost at around 3000rpm, but that was never going to satisfy the pilot. That set-up was tossed into the weeds, and a Hypertune front-facing manifold now showcases the Garrett G30-900 turbo that was eventually settled on as being the perfect combo, balancing response and performance. It’s not making huge power, at 340kW, but with peak power on tap at just over 4000rpm there are plenty of revs to play with here and GOOOEY will be gone around the next bend before many builds are even spooling up.
With responsiveness being key, a Link ECU G4+ talks to a number of sensors before displaying info on the centre console–mounted Powertune dash. We asked Aidan about audio; he reckons, “The only sound I need is the tuned 4G63 on full boost.” Having the same tuner through ownership has its benefits, and MBT knows exactly what is wanted both on the road and on the racetrack. We did reference ‘sleeper’ earlier, but, really, no one is falling for that with the wagon’s gleaming factory white paint perfectly complementing the subtle body additions, which are a combination of fibreglass and carbon fibre, and a rear wing that lets you know that’s all you are likely to be seeing.
The Work Emotion XD9s — which you hardly see nowadays — are a nice nod to more track-focused activities, with the bronze working well against the trademark red Brembo callipers. Did we mention Aidan is a detailer by trade? If you still don’t quite get it, then hey there is always the big in-your-face Plazmaman intercooler that hints at this wagon’s inner menace. This is a ride that’s definitely meant to be used, and Aidan tells us he intends to get it out as much as possible over summer. If you get a chance to see this wagon, then definitely take a longer look at this ride that is a bit more than meets the eye — that is, if you can keep up.
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This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 299
