Sleeping Beast | Garage R Mitsubishi Evo

During a trip down to Singapore early this year, we were able to get a chance to visit Garage R which is the main distributor for HKS parts in South East Asia. From how I recalled it, going to Garage R was like walking in a Toys'R'Us full of sought after car parts. They had KW and Hipermax coilovers on one wall, and racing wheels and titanium exhaust systems on the other. The main purpose of the visit was to get info about the street going HKS GT1000 GTR that I shot in Kuala Lumpur on the owner's recommendation.

Before I arrived to Garage R, my contact, Jason Lin was able to get hold of a couple of his customers' cars for me to shoot. One of them being a Mitsubishi Evo 9 MR that he mentioned was 'stock'. That got me scratching my head and thinking why would I want to shoot a stock Evo? Long story short, Jason just told me to come down and take a look at the car first. So when I looked at the car, aside from the Wedsport wheels and the minor carbon fiber details, it actually look stock.

I examined the car as if I was a police officer. I opened up the engine bay and at first glance, it looked stock as well. I stepped inside of the car and there wasn't even a single gauge or a turbo timer in sight. It was one of those moments where I was a baffled because I was expecting something. So Jason told me I should look inside the glove compartment. Curious on my he asked me to do so, I pulled it open. There inside sits the HKS F-Con V Pro and other engine management devices that was cleverly concealed in the glove compartment.

It finally made sense. This Evo is a certified sleeper. The overall look of the car was so deceiving yet when a person sees a HKS F-Con V Pro ECU hidden in the glove compartment, they will know there's something up with this car. While being in the previous owner's possession, this Evo was planned to be built for track use. In fact, during that time, this Evo did experience some circuit action for a couple of times before being sold to the current owner.

When the current owner bought the car, his intentions was just to keep the car on the street. The 4G63 motor that came with the car was totally stock when the Evo changed hands. However, in the middle of 2015, this Evo was brought over to Garage R for a full engine rebuild. The 4G63 motor was opened up piece by piece for the project and replaced with mostly the best HKS off the shelf parts available for the 4G63 motor.

At the bottom end, the stock internals were replaced with stronger HKS forged pistons and connecting rods. The MIVEC cylinder heads has been port and polished and currently running HKS 272 camshafts with adjustable HKS cam pulleys. The turbo system was also replaced with a HKS GT2 7460R turbine and a HKS stainless steel exhaust manifold.With the HKS F-Con V Pro engine management system hooked up, it was taken to the dyno to be tuned. The 4G63 motor is currently making 440 horsepower at the wheels at 1.9 bars of boost.

Despite making that amount of power, this Evo is one of the more driveable ones with a clutch that doesn't feel heavy and has manageable power that gradually comes in throughout the revs. Anyone who drives this won't expect it to have more than 400 horsepower until they have their foot flat on the floor.  In other words, this car is a certified sleeper. For an Evo that drives like a stock car while having this amount of power that's just ready to be unleashed, this would be the kind of car that I would drive on a daily basis without worry or hesitation. There's just no other way to put it.

TUNING MENU
Owner: Anonymous
Model: 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR CT9A
Location: Yio Chu Kang, Singapore

ENGINE:
2.0L 4G63 Inline-4,
HKS Forged Pistons,
HKS Forged Conrods,
HKS 272 Camshafts.
HKS Adjustable Cam Pulleys,
Port And Polished Heads,
Cosworth Headstuds,
HKS 1.6mm Metal Head Gasket,
S90 70mm Throttle Body,
HKS Stainless Steel Turbo Manifold,
HKS Silent Hi-Power Exhaust,
HKS GT2 7460R Turbo,
HKS Super SGV Blow Off Valve,
Koyorad Aluminum Radiator,
HKS Racing Suction Filter,
HKS F-Con V Pro ECU,

DRIVETRAIN:
6 speed manual,
Tomioka Racing 5.09 Final Drive,
ORC Racing Concept Twin Plate Clutch,

SUSPENSION, CHASSIS AND BRAKES:
HKS Hipermax III Coilovers,
Tanabe Anti-Sway Bars (F & R),
AP Racing 6 Pot Front Calipers,
AP Racing 4 Pot Rear Calipers,
Slotted Front Brake Rotors,

WHEELS AND TIRES:
Wedsports SA-67R 18 x 9.5 Offset +20 (all round),
Michelin Pilot Sport 3 265/45/18 (all round),

EXTERIOR:
Ralliart Carbon Fiber Front Lip,
DAMD Carbon Fiber Side Skirt Lip,
DAMD Carbon Fiber Rear Lip,
Ganador Carbon Fiber Side Mirrors,

INTERIOR:
Stock

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Garage R, Singapore.

BONUS IMAGES

Takumi's Resurrection | Jeremy's Boosted Subaru BRZ

If one really sits down to think about it, one might realize how much cars have become more than just a mode of transport. As a matter a fact, it came to the point where these machines have become icons of pop culture. Most of the time, it is due to being the ride of the leading character in a film or TV show. Of course, things have gone a long way ever since the days of ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ or ‘Bullitt’. But it was always the same story. A car was used for a particular film or TV show that becomes a hit then that particular model becomes more desirable and escalates in value.

For this story though, it might not be the original model that was used in the TV show, but Toyota, Subaru and Scion based in America decided to bring back the Hachiroku heritage by rebooting it with a new sports car back in 2009. They decided to take cues from the Toyota 2000GT and the Corolla AE86. So in 2012, the Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ and the Scion FRS were released. Overnight, it became an instant hit due to its tuner friendly nature and ability to live up to the hype that was brought up by the manufactures.

Apparently, a Singaporean man named Jeremy had the same idea in his mind. Ever since the year 1998, he has been a huge Initial D fan. Just like any fan, he became intrigued by the car that was driven by the lead character, none other than the Toyota AE86. There was even one point in his life where he owned an AE86 Levin in the year 2000 to 2001. But just like most old cars in Singapore, the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for the Levin was expired, so at last he decided to send the car for scrap since Jeremy was also required to attend the Singapore National Service.

About more than a decade later, it was time for Jeremy to purchase a new car. At the time, the Subaru BRZ was just released into the market. So he wasted no time and placed an order for the new BRZ and received it in July 2012. At the time, his order was the first for the BRZ in South East Asia. When he got his BRZ, he knew in a way, he could relive the Initial D dream he once had during the days of his Levin. It might not be exactly the same, but it is also a way for him to explore new things. So he started to gradually tune his BRZ to his liking.

About 6 month owning the BRZ, Jeremy made the decision to go with forced induction with his car. But while most people in the region would most likely go for a turbo system, Jeremy decided to go for a supercharged set up instead. At the time, HKS released their first version of the GT Supercharger for the FA20 motor. So he approached and made arrangements with Garage R to purchase and install the supercharger system in his BRZ. It wouldn’t go any other way since Garage R is an established distributor for HKS parts in Singapore.

 Some including myself might wonder and asked why go with a supercharger instead of going for a turbo. Well, before owning the BRZ, Jeremy had already owned a turbocharged Subaru Forester before. He could turbocharge his BRZ as well, but he wanted to look for a good amount of linear torque which by default means uninterrupted response. This would be very useful for twisty roads that have a lot of corners. On top of that, HKS was able to produce a supercharger system that can be bolted on straight to the already high compression FA20 motor without the need of swapping engine internals. Thus far, after bolting on the HKS GT Supercharger, Jeremy hasn’t come across any issue with the system.

Despite being a track ready car with an induction system different to factory, Jeremy’s BRZ is found to be totally streetable. There was hardly an occasion where he attracted unwanted attention of the authorities in Singapore even with the authentic Rocket Bunny version 2 aerokit and the Initial D inspired two tone paint job on the exterior. He always kept in mind no matter how the car is modded, it won’t make the cops look twice. But for one who can appreciate, Jeremy’s BRZ is arguably an awesome example of the ZC6 in both aspects of functionality and style.

TUNING MENU
Owner: Jeremy Netto
Model: 2012 Subaru BRZ ZC6
Location: Singapore

ENGINE:
2.0L FA20 Flat-4,
HKS GT Supercharger GTS7040L,
HKS Oil Cooler,
HKS Strengthened Head Gasket,
HKS Hi Power Spec L Catback Exhaust System (LTA Approved),
HKS M45HL Spark Plugs,
HKS CAMP 2 (Display at in-car headunit)
HKS Boost Sensor,
HKS Circle Earth System,
CARBING Oil Catch Tank,
AEM Water/Methanol Kit,
BILLION Low Temp Thermostat,
ECUTek Tune,

DRIVETRAIN:
6 speed manual,
API Racing Twin Plate Dry Clutch,

SUSPENSION, CHASSIS AND BRAKES:
API Racing Type RS-R Coilovers,
CARBING Front Aluminum Strut Bars,
CARBING Front Upper Frame Brace,
CARBING Rear Aluminum Strut Bar,
CARBING Front Member Brace,
CARBING Front Lower Arm Support Brace,
CARBING Lower Arm Bar,
CARBING Rear Member Brace (Vers 2),
CARBING Rear Frame Brace,
API Racing 6 pot Front Brakes,
API Racing 4 pot Rear Brakes,
API Racing Brake Temperature Sensor,

WHEELS AND TIRES:
Yokohama Advan Racing RZ-DF 18 x 10jj (Front) 18 x 10.5jj (Rear)
Yokohama Advan AD08R 265/35/18 (all round)

EXTERIOR:
TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny Version 2 Aerokit,
Espirit Carbon Fiber GT Wing,
Wasp Composite Front Splitter,

INTERIOR:
BRIDE Type R Bucket Seats,
Takata Racing Harness,
Nardi Steering Wheel,
CARBING Driver Foot Rest,

BONUS IMAGES

Lined up at a stop light with a Civic EK

Look who's here.

Initial D inspired photo for an Initial D inspired car