Pitstop at Ralliart

A friend recently visited the Mitsubishi Motors' Ralliart Pit at 241 Alexandra Rd, Level 2.



Back when I was driving a Lancer, I can see myself dropping serious coin in this store!



Aww... So cute! In its teddy bear-sized Ralliart bucket seat. I was corrected by my friend, its a human-sized teddy bear in a ready-to-bolt-on Ralliart bucket seat!



Trio of Evo X demo cars.

Our fearless friend braced the no photo-taking policy, so photos are a bit limited. Hope you enjoyed these!

Mit GTO with Corvette rear

Spotted this gem of a GTO two days back at Ubi. Fresh paintwork.



I cant recognize the rims (RE30?), anyone can tell me? Please don't tell me the hubcap is a stock Ferrari item though....



Rear conversion to Corvette-sque lights. See the difference between the stock and modded examples. I rather like the modded example.

HPI Cover Evo For Sale

HPI always impress me with their coverage of mouthwatering Japanese car porn, and the same goes for issue 95's cover car, an Evo 7 GT-A christened as EFO by Jeff Ash who runs renowned Australia tuning house C-Red.

When asked on the almost outrageous claim on the cover, he replied "Yes it beat a Gallardo and a 575M when I won the Bullrun in it."

Amazingly, EFO is an automatic but redeeming features are top-of-the-line JDM parts incorporated into a reliable and good-looking street car. I guess there are demand for performance vehicles that won't break your left leg when you are stuck in traffic yet has the ability to whip supercars on the odd track day here and there.


The power parts list goes as follow: TP 3071R External Gat Turbo Kit - Wastegate plumbed in, HPI Manifold, Silicon Radiator Hose, Air Filter and Intercooler, Trust PE2 Exhaust, Metal Cat 4" Cat, Perrin Fuel Rail, Sard 700cc Injectors, Trust Cam Gears and belt, HKS Kansai Carbon Plug Cover and Strut Brace, Evo 9 RS Coilpacks. Recently installed 15k old Auto Box

Results? Made 303hp at all four wheels on All Star's Dynapacks up, more than doubling (!) from 150hp stock on Top Racing's 4wd Dyno Dynamics. Yes, Jeff and C-Red like their ponies.

EFO ran a a quarter mile in 14.4 seconds with a 96 miles terminal speed when it was totally stock, while the current guise will run a respectable 12 seconds.

As mentioned, this is meant to be a comfy daily driver and the interior reflects this inclination with a pair of comfortable Recaro SR-6 KK100 seats mounted on Recaro Low Mount Rails, Momo Evolution Steering Wheel, JDM-style Karo mats and custom door trims.

If you still can't get over the fact that its an auto, how about a pimpin' Works Bell Paddle Shift Conversion to make you happy? Spot the flappies behind the steering wheel.

Taking centre stage in the interior is a Pioneer deck with Bluetooth capabilities for your mobile phone, Greddy turbo timer and Tanabe Electric Active Suspension Controller for you to adjust suspenion dampening at the touch of a button.

Yep, Jeff loves his tunes as well. A pair of Eclipse 12" subwoofer in a custom enclosure to clear the HKS K rear strut brace. A Pioneer 6 disc CD changer completes the ICE set-up.

C-Red being a SSR dealer, EFO runs shiny Super Black Coat SSR MS1 19x9 rims with +28 offset to flush out the guards, which you can see from the picture below. Further attention to details are evident from the repainted Brembos and slash anodised hub covers.

Parting shot of this unique creation. Check out the rare Mines carbon rear lip and JDM rear Visor which is a dealer option in Japan only.

A well-executed build with top notch JDM parts and you can be assured extra attention is paid to achieve perfection because well... it's the boss' car.

So the price? A mere AUD 35,000. Do a rough calculation on the cost of parts alone and you will realize this C-Red demo car is a performance bargain.

Contact Jeff at jash@c-red.com.au before EFO is sold!

Random Sightings: RE GT300 RX7, Daigo's Mustang, Team Orange Evo X

Some random snaps courtesy of Dino Dalle:

Team Orange's Evo X

Daigo (2008 D1GP champion) is currently contesting this Mustang for the 2009 season. Already ruffling the feathers of many diehard JDM fanboys.

Re Amemiya's 2009 entrant for GT300. It's sponsored by Mutiara Motors, a previously little-known Malaysian company. Interesting...

Eight Lives

I have always like the performance of Evolutions, but not necessarily their looks.

The first to fifth iteration look a bit too much like Protons for me. Number 6 is obviously legendary, but again the 7th attempt looks a bit half-baked as the front grille is too similar to the base Lancer.

The Evolution 8 is the first Evo whose looks I really like, with its square-jawed, gaping front and stretched fenders conveying a sense of muscularity and menance. So when you take the range topping MR version and bolt on a tonne of quality JDM parts, you get this magnificent example.

LOOKS - INGS body kit, with a carbonfibre bonnet up front and boot out back topped off with a Voltex GT spoiler. The cumbersome stock side view mirrors are also replaced with aerodynamic Ganadors

GO - Basic bolt-ons like HKS Super flow intake and HKS Hi Silent power exhaust, combined with higher boost (HKS EVC5) and aftermarket engine management duties courtesy of a APEXI Power FC, equates easily to approximately 350 bhp.

STOP - With a proven race heritage in F1, WRC, NASCAR, Indy Car and the likes, the Alcon 6 pot mono block calipers are combined with 343mm rotors produce mammoth and fade-free stopping force. The 17" Buddy Club P1 rims allow the huge calipers to be proudly displayed through the thin 6 spokes.

TURN: The MR's centre of gravity has been lowered by the use of aluminium for the roof panel and weight reductions to the upper half of the body. Other handling improvements are to the electronic 4WD system - to the ACD (Active Centre Differential) + Super AYC (Active Yaw Control) handling systems. To this already potent mix, an set of Tein Monoflex coilies are paired with EDFC to allow for fast, in-cabin damper adjustment.

A practical, good-looking 4 door sedan with the ability to let 95% of all cars on the roads kiss the dust... What more can an enthusiast ask for?

Boy Racer Grows Up (Slightly)

I guess this is what happen when you could no longer drive your RX7 or Silvia because you started a family, but would rather die than drive a MPV or a bland econobox. Cue the Lancer Evolution IX Wagon!

Judging from that cannon muffler, I am pretty sure his kids usually get to school on time....

Black-on-White Evo X

Spotted this white Evo X yesterday at Market Street. Vented CF bonnet, 12-spoke 18-inch rims and big Endless brakes combined for a tough street look. Anyone has contacts with the Evo X club in Singapore? Let me know if you do, perhaps it's time for Julian and I to do a club feature.

T-Shirts for Car Lovers!

The Carbon Clad Cars blog is pleased to launch our sister site CarbonClad.com, providing 100% cotton tees with exclusive motoring designs.

I assure you that you won't find these designs on any other t-shirt labels as I worked tirelessly with a couple of graphic designers who are as car crazy as I am to come up with these original babies.

We have Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Subaru, Toyota, Drift, Drag, Time Attack.... If its JDM, and its cool, we have it!

We ship internationally using registered mail and each T-shirt is only going for S$30 (approx US$20). From now til 31st March, key in coupon code 'CC' when you make your purchase for an additional 20% off! You know I love you...

Go on visit the site, buy a tee or two if you like the designs and tell your friends about it. Spread the love!

Talks Softly But Carries A Big Stick - Iskandar's Evo 8

Well Evos are really not that suitable to be sleeper cars as you can hear them a mile away and that's worsened by the hordes of over stylized Evolutions and worse, 'riced up' base Lancers.

However, when I spotted this dusty, black, relatively stock exterior (no big gt wing, wild body kits) discreet example of an Evolution 8, something tells me that there is more than meets the eye.

Other than the full battery of gauges sitting on the dash, the first give away is the ground effect Varis carbon fibre front lip. Looking at the size and quality of the carbon fibre weave, this sh*t can't be cheap.


Opening up the bonnet, things get interesting. Let's see, Custom ram air (4 inch diameter at the front tapering to 2.5 at the compressor opening for better response) intake system? Check. 4G63 chock full of Tomei internals? Check. Triple row aluminum radiator? Check. All hoses replaced with silicon and braided steel items. Check. What you can't see is a TD06 with a custom turbine housing, again for improved response.

All these translate to a dyno chart that looks like a large displacement NA race motor. HUGE power area under the curve, 440 bhp at 6000+ rpm (The owner, Iskandar showed me his chart but I forgot to take a photo).

Iskandar told me that he had a HKS GT3037 before and while he push over 500 bhp using the HKS, the car was laggy as hell. He track the car at Sepang regularly, posting timings in the very respectable 2'30"-ish range.

Further proof of the car's serious track intentions - external fuel pump and surge tank mounted in the boot within a clear fibreglass housing. Top notch work by ST Power once again.

In the cabin, more displays and gauges and toys than you can shake a stick at. Non-Singaporean/Malaysian readers probably are scratching their heads on the identity of the gadget on top/to the right of the two Blitz display meters (top right corner of the photo). 'Some say it adds 50 horsepower and brings on full boost earlier by a full 500 rpm....' *Jeremy Clarkson's tone-of-voice

In parting - A closer look at the centre console. HKS F-Con V Pro ems, EVC boost controller and Defi Link Control II, again the 'totally discreet on the outside but just take a look at the boot, engine bay and cabin!' theme. Wow, just... WOW.

Barbie Pink Evo X

Although the Evo X is getting a rather lukewarm reception so far by Singaporean enthusiasts, slowly but surely, we are starting to see a few modded examples. It wouldn't take much to stand out from the mostly stock-looking Evo Xs on the roads so far, but this owner is not leaving anything to chance...

Cue Barbie pink custom paint job, vented carbon fibre bonnet, black 5-spokes rims (I am guessing G Games or URAS) with matching pink lips, carbon fibre Ganador mirrors. Overall, I think the two tone look is carried off pretty well, though a carbon fibre GT wing should have been added as well, giving the overtness of the overall styling.


Last but not least, factory Recaros do a pretty good job of strapping in the owner's date...