My FM Log: Forever Knighthood

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III is the peak of the first saga of the Lancer Evolution. It arrived in Forza Motorsport, and there's so much to talk about this JDM gem in so little time.

Here's the TMI on the LanEvo III.

Launched in 1995, the Lancer Evolution III is the third and the last verse based on the fourth-generation Lancer. It features a revised body style compared to the Evo II while the turbocharged 2.0L 4G63 engine was bumped to 266HP of power output.

Inside the world of Initial D, the Evo III was driven by the Emperor boss, Kyoichi Sudo. Takumi Fujiwara dueled against Sudo in an unofficial match in Akagi and lost because of the AE86's blown engine, but Sudo let him slide for now. Following the AE86's blown engine, Sudo battled Ryosuke Takahashi of Redsuns and lost. Later on, on his home turf Irohazaka, the rematch between Takumi and Sudo ended in a dead heat.

I respected this Evo ever since it popped up in Initial D. From its rally knowhow, the clever 4WD system, and legendary performance, it's no wonder it became one of the most formidable rally weapons in the 90s and now, to prove its worth, let's take the Evo III a hot lap around Suzuka Circuit, just to experience what's like to be inside the car driven by the Emperor boss. "It's a seminar" like what Sudo said. Roll the tape.

Mr. Emperor can do better than mine but hey, it's the experience that counts, right?

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III is the peak of the first saga of the Lancer Evolution. It's no wonder it became one of the most formidable rally weapons in the 90s. In the world of Initial D, you have to be brave and bold enough to take him down.

It's an honor to drive this iconic Mitsubishi rally car in the game.

My GT7 Log: Emperors

The Evo III and the Evo IV are the infamous 4WD sports saloons that made an appearance in the Initial D series because these cars were driven by Kyoichi Sudo and Seiji Iwaki, the formidable duo from the team Emperor. Here in Gran Turismo 7, I got the chance to drive the fearsome twosome.

Whenever these two Evos popped up on the mountain roads, street racers are going to think twice before facing them head-on because, as witnessed in the series, the loser gets their team stickers sliced in half. So, what made these Evos feared on the mountain roads?

Let's begin with the Lancer Evolution III, the one Kyoichi Sudo drove in Initial D. The Evo III is the third and the last verse of the one based on the fourth-generation Lancer, commonly nicknamed by Noypis as the "Lancer Hotdog" because of the hotdog-shaped rear-lamps. Launched in 1995, the Evo III features a revised body style compared to the Evo II while the turbocharged 2.0L 4G63 engine was bumped to 266HP of power output.

As the Evo driven by the Emperor boss in Initial D, Takumi dueled against Sudo in an unofficial match and lost because of the AE86's blown engine but Sudo let it slide for now. Following the AE86's blown engine, Sudo battled Ryosuke Takahashi of Redsuns and lost. Later on, on his home turf Irohazaka, the rematch between Takumi and Sudo ended in a dead heat.

Now, let's take a look at the Evo driven by the Emperor's head honcho Seiji Iwaki, the Lancer Evolution IV. Being the first Evo that was based on the fifth-generation Lancer, known by the commercials as the "Good Run Lancer", the Evo IV is an entirely new model built from the ground up. The same engine that powers the Evo has been flipped around 180 degrees and saw a power increase to 276HP of power. The Evo IV marked the debut of the Active Yaw Control, which replaced the previous models' mechanical LSD. In the world of Initial D, Takumi battled Seiji and barely won.

Having gotten to know about the Evos driven by the Emperor duo, let's give this fearsome twosome a duel to determine which one is the best, and with that, I selected Autopolis for this matter.

So, which of these Emperor LanEvos is the most potent one? The leader or the head honcho? Let's roll the tape.

And now the results...

Evo III - 2m20.256s

Evo IV - 2m19.587s

It's a shockingly close result. The head honcho has beaten the leader by nearly a second. I guess this is how much of an improvement the Evo IV is compared to the Evo III. Still, they're pretty good for retro rally JDM saloons known and feared the world over.

As said before, both the Evo III and the Evo IV are fearsome twosome street racers who are going to think twice before facing them head-on as seen in Initial D. These machines showcased how much progress the Lancer Evolution has gone through since the beginning of the tale. They really are the best machines to come out from the 1990s, the golden era of JDM sports cars.

Remember the emperors...

FH2 Storm Island: Lancer Pizza

This is the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI and this is much more of an ultimate version of the Lancer we called it "Lancer Pizza" because of its pizza-shaped taillamps. If my memory serves me correctly, most of the youth who were in their senior years or in college were driving one of these apart from its "Lancer itlog" predecessor. Sadly, we don't have a Lancer itlog here but this "Lancer pizza" really reminds us of our younger selves, younger selves that we used it for transportation or for fun while causing much of a trouble. Apart from driving it, we used it to hide from grownups chasing us, making out with our girlfriends, listening to some radio music while stuck in traffic, whatever we're facing with. This Lancer Pizza has lots of youthful memories.

But this is the Evo, or to be more precise, the Evo VI, the one were the Lancer pizza has been pushed to its greater heights as well as its racing pedigree thanks to its involvement in the World Rally Championship with Tommi Makinen behind the wheel.



Continuing on my Storm Island journey, the next championship I'm taking on involves 90s rally machines and this one really makes the cuts and I signed up for one. Before that, some improvements have been made on my Lancer Pizza Evo VI to make it capable of surviving Storm Island's extreme terrains. As for looks, I made it look like it was taking on amateur rallycross. Yes. It wants to show its racing pedigree like most Evos do in their lifespan.

And now, the big moment...



Four races down! Looks like the highly memorable Lancer pizza, even in its hypo-Evo form, really survived Storm Island. With four championships cleared, my journey towards the finale in Storm Island continues but before taking on the next tier, I need to complete...The Gauntlet. What is the gauntlet? Stay tuned...

Forza Horizon 2: The Evo's dying wish

With the news reporting that the Lancer Evolution saga will end within a few short moments and Mitsubishi Motors have no plans to replace it with something exciting because they have other things on their mind, all we can feel is sadness for Mitsubishi's world because now that they've out of their motorsport business and with Ralliart gone for good (well, some parts of the world had), performance is no longer part of the Mitsubishi Motors timeshare.

Now that the Evo is on its last legs, guess I had no choice but to fulfill its dying wish here in Forza Horizon 2 on my XBOX One gaming console.



The Evo X is, well according to one theory, named the final Lancer Evolution ever made, and while this itineration, which is based on the aging Galant Fortis (Lancer in the world market) saloon, may be over half a decade old when it was launched in Japan since 2007, there's still a lot of love for this old-timer, even when Subaru's downing this car for the count with their latest WRX STi (which so far, Turn 10 haven't feature it on FH2 until further notice). With features such as S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control), 6-speed TC-SST, 4B11 MIVEC engine, and other unique features, the Lancer Evolution X is an Evo that loves to fight till its last breath.



To prepare for the Evo's final days on planet earth before Mitsubishi Motors closes the saga of every speedo boys' favorite, I gave it some minor improvements before getting ready for the championship I've signed up for this car. See those HKS logos I've planted on the Evo's body? I've made them myself.

I took this one on a road trip to remember...



...and then I took this Evo on the championship I've signed up for. The events I've signed up for this car are all set in France's Sisteron and because it was classified as a Modern Rally car, it will be facing punishing road conditions even during cross-country events but since the Evo's been through tough times, I'm sure it will have some fighting chance.



I've finally fulfilled the Evo's one last wish; to race like what other Evos do during their glory days, and while the Evo's dying wish came true, I still have a few championships left before the finale on FH2 so it's time to head back home and lay plans. See you soon!

Welcome Back: HKS Time Attack Evolution

This car destroyed every Japanese race tracks' lap times
but is it possible to destroy the Power Lap Boards?

This car was showcased at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Salon and this tuned Evo was made to break every single record known to Japanese racing circuits. It's first steps was on April 2, 2006 when it recorded a lap time of 55.063 seconds at Tsukuba Circuit in Shimotsuma, Japan. Later on, the CT230R lapped a 1:42.37 round the Fuji Speed Way and soon afterwards, it destroyed every single lap record in Tokachi Circuit, Central Circuit (Hyogo), Okayama International, Sugo, and Suzuka Circuit.

On December 2006, the CT230R returned on Tsukuba and set an impressive 53.999 seconds and a year later, the record was beaten again in a manly 53.589 seconds. This record breaking tuned Evo was piloted by Nob Taniguchi, based on the Lancer Evolution, and most of the parts were from HKS, while the 2.0L 4G63 engine was upgraded to 2.3L. It comes with HKS' GT3240 turbo that provides 552HP of power and 470.1 ft-lb of torque. For weight loss, most of the body panels are replaced with carbon fiber.

This car is listed as a unicorn car.

Eh? Malaysian Lancer EX?!

2011 Proton Inspira

In Malaysia, Proton officially unveiled the Inspira sedan. This is kind of familiar because the Inspira is the OEM of the Mitsubishi Lancer EX (Galant Fortis in Japan).

Scoop:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/11/11/nation/7407689&sec=nation

Eh? Malaysian version of Mitsubishi Lancer EX/Galant Fortis? This is somewhat eccentric...