The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. You’ve heard of them; you know what they are. They’re raw, no nonsense, aggressive rally bred machines tuned for domination. From the Evolution I to the VI they’ve been getting faster, more powerful, wider and the rear wing has been getting more wild. One can only imagine what the VII would look like. Some sort of comic book style monster that Mitsubishi would unleash onto the world. Well… think again.
As you approach this Lancer Evolution you can’t help but wonder: Where’s the vent in the hood? Where’s the in your face fender flares? Why does the wing look so normal? Where’s the clutch pedal?! As you continue to look for these lost pieces of Evo necessity you realize there’s a new badge… GT-A. Mm, welcome to the 2000s.
It’s a new time, sports cars are dying out and those that survive are becoming more conservative, more appealing to the mass market and nothing appeals the mass market like an automatic transmission. Enter the Evolution VII GT-A, the gentleman’s sports car. While the Evo 7 on a whole has grown up, becoming bigger, heavier and more comfortable, the GT-A takes it a step further doing away with those immature hood vents, throwing in some classy (for the times) chromed clear lens taillights and Jason should count himself lucky he got a ‘real’ Evo wing as these GT-A’s usually come with a low rise spoiler or no spoiler at all. Then there’s the transmission; a first for the Evolution line, the GT-A adopts the “fuzzy logic” 5 speed automatic similar to the unit found in the Galant/Legnum VR-4 of old, sharing this transmission with the Airtrek Turbo R. In order to promote longevity of the unit, the GT-A’s 4G63 power plant was detuned to 270hp, which almost means nothing these days since most GT-A owners load up a GSR’s mapping onto the ECU at the very least anyways. The manifold and downpipe which were acoustically tuned to be quieter? Meaningless as they’re usually chucked in the bin. Even that smooth automatic usually has a calling to the junkyard after a manual conversion down the road as many buy these cars simply because they’re cheaper than a GSR.
Although, not every GT-A owner buys it as s stop gap sort of deal. The owner of this particular example, Jason, is just fine with his ‘cruise and comfort’ turbocharged machine. This is one Evo you won’t see hacked up, barely idling and spooling a turbo the size of Arizona all for the sake of speed. Jason’s Evo 7 is a daily commuter meant for minimum stress and maximum enjoyment. Most of the time he’s driving around with the car in D, tinted windows up and A/C blowing cold. Listening to music from the double-din touch screen stereo as the GT-A effortlessly and comfortably ears up the miles… uh, kilometers.
You’d almost be fooled into thinking this was a normal Lancer, right up until you’d need to overtake and you bury your foot into the loud pedal. Suddenly the engine comes alive and the 3” cat-back exhaust dispels wasted gases in the best sounding way possible. The turbo comes on song almost immediately pushing you back into the seat as the speedometer climbs. Put it into manual mode, where the Evo would faster hit its limiter all day than dare change gear for you and bear witness to surprisingly fast shifts from an early 2000s slush box. Before you know it there’s a corner approaching and you’re going speeds not recommended by the law, but no need to fear. The Lancer Evolution’s big OEM Brembo calipers are more than up to the task, hauling the super saloon down to a manageable speed allowing you to sail through the turn due to the well balanced chassis and suspension, not to mention the Tein springs that Jason installed allow even greater control during cornering.
What about corner exit? Well that’s where the Lancer Evolution comes into its own. With the Active Centre Differential dictating front to rear torque split and the Active Yaw Control controlling left and right torque split at the rear axle, you can get onto the throttle earlier while these two systems help you get as much grip as physically possible.
In short Jason’s Lancer Evolution 7 GT-A can be both the weekend toy you love, and the daily driver your mother won’t keep complain about you owning. What more could you want really, besides more speed of course?
Q&A
Do you have a soft spot for the Evo or was this just a random car buy?
It’s a combination of what you said. It’s both a car I always used to look at and follow and I like all JDM cars in general, and also European but I cannot afford European. The JDM for its mix of features and practicality was the best suit for me, so I got the Evo.
Do you believe the automatic transmission takes away from the sportiness of the vehicle at all, or is that a myth?
That is a question I’m still trying to find an answer to, because I autocross the car just to see exactly where it stands, going without any preconceptions. At first, before I bought the car I was a little bit pessimistic about the automatic transmission but the car grew on me. It really performs pretty close to the regular GSRs.
What do you see in the future for this build?
I’m currently going forward with it because of the autocross. It lets me figure out where I want to take the car. In terms of what I like, I like good handling and comfort. It has to be a sophisticated ride, it mustn’t be too bumpy or too soft, it must be somewhere in between and be able to take the corner and slow down and still be under control. Once you change one part on anything, you have to follow it and to see what the cascade effects are. For example if I changed the turbo, can I keep the same downpipe? Can I keep the same exhaust manifold? What difference would it make to the engine? I don’t want to fiddle with it too much because I find it has a good balance already.
Do you feel the driving aids, as in the AYC and ACD?
Yeah, you feel it. I’ve had the opportunity to drive a couple of Evos; a IV, a VI, a VII and also a III. I had the III for about two or three weeks. That was actually the first Evo I drove. The VII drives differently. I’ve also gotten the opportunity, in the Evo club, to hear first-hand impressions of my car. There was one time Brian (Evo VI) and I were going up the road, and we were being followed by another Evo VII, and the driver said he can’t explain it but my car seems to sit better on the road than Brian’s car. When it rains I feel like I’m on rails, it feels like it’s about to oversteer but it never really does. That’s the best way I can describe it. You feel the AYD, you feel the ACD.
Would you say that all these electronics cause a disconnection between car and driver?
I believe that’s something some people say because they’ve never gotten to experience it to the fullest. Some cars dumb it down to the point where you really are disconnected. I like the mechanical feeling of the vehicle. I think the Evo VII has a nice balance of the electronics and the mechanical feeling when it comes to the feedback from the steering wheel and the feel of the brakes.
How would you compare your car to the older Evos?
One thing I’ve always disliked, even though I own a Mitsubishi, I wouldn’t give them props for everything. I don’t like how they’ve bred it on the rally course and then from the inception, the cars just became bigger and heavier. They’d justify it with chassis stiffening and handling and whatnot. I find the X is too big. I find that every generation before is a bit more pure bred. I’m not knocking that, because on the street, I want more comfort in my car, but in terms of the purer side of me, I prefer the older ones.
What’s your take on Saint Lucian car culture?
To me it’s more talking and less doing, with the average guy. Of course there are some people like Brian (with the Evo VI) and Shaft. I find that the average guys are in their own bubbles. For example if I have an Evo, I don’t want to know about anything else. I don’t want to know about Legacies, I don’t want to know about Skylines, I have the best car. I wouldn’t even mind rolling with Levins as long as we keep it safe. I’m not going to try to drive circles around you or say my car is the best and my car is the fastest. In the Evolution group, we do runs around the island. You know, you’re not testing the car to the death against the other person. You just have a mutual understanding that you both have fun cars and you go down the road as comfortably as you want. If you see a person cannot follow you, or you cannot follow a person, everybody just moves to the pace of the slowest person. You just have fun and see the island as you go, it doesn’t have to be a cut-throat, chauvinistic kind of thing. That’s my take on the St. Lucian car culture; it needs to mature to the point where people could not get hurt by losing a race. I think you learn more from losing than from always coming first. You have to challenge yourself and try other vehicles.
