Mitsubishi Evolution 8

Evo 8 goes drag with 855whp

2003 Mitsubishi Evolution VIII - Searching For Sevens
DSM's American Granddaddy Goes Drag Racing
January, 2008 issue of Turbo & High-Tech Performance
By Bradford Elsinore
Photography by Henry Z. Dekuyper
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Viii Left Front View

You have your favorites. We all do. But there's no question that, in the world of Mitsubishi performance, David Buschur's name is one of the most memorable. We're talking about a guy who was modifying Eclipses when you were drawing them on notebook edges in social studies. More importantly, David is a guy who thrives on competition and lives for a challenge.

In 2003, Buschur Racing bought a new EVO VIII and developed a line of parts for the car. But it wasn't until 2004 that tuners everywhere began realizing just how fast and tunable Mitsubishi's rally car was. Sure enough, there was a contingent that proved the rally car as capable in the quarter-mile as it was elsewhere. Nine-second quarter-mile times were proving more possible than ever and Buschur wanted in.

Summoning the help of brother Daniel Buschur, the two soon chose a car-a totaled '03 Evolution VIII. The mangled car immediately went over to Ron Luman at Rapid Auto Body in Lorain, Ohio, to return to factory specification. Despite plans to gut the EVO for racing, the Buschur brothers couldn't hack the car up when they saw the finished product from Rapid Auto Body.
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Viii Engine

With a full interior and minor lightening, the EVO on its second life ran a 10.1-second quarter-mile right out of the box with Buschur's version of the GT35R kit in place. Seeing how quickly they'd become number two or three in the nation, the brothers upped the ante, in an attempt to steal first place. A GT42R replaced the GT35R, along with an HKS Kansai manifold with an 85mm Infiniti throttle body and a custom header. In 2006, the car ran consistent 9.6-second quarter-miles at about 150 mph. The guys at their competitor AMS were quicker.

Buschur's blood boiled and the heat of competition drove the team to pile in and build a car that could beat AMS at eight-second quarter-mile times. Finally, the preciously rebuilt interior saw its demise and was completely gutted (minus the driver's door, of course-Daniel has to stay cool when he's piloting the car himself). In addition, the car got lexan windows, a RobiSpec carbon-fiber hood and trunk, some A'PEXi N1 suspension and a lightweight brake kit developed by Wilwood and competitor AMS.

Thanks to the crash diet, the EVO was now running 9.1- and 9.2-second quarter-mile times. So was AMS. The race was on and the heat hotter than ever. The two met head-to-head at the 14th annual DSM/EVO Shootout, where most of the day both teams saw runs in the nines. Finally, Daniel slammed through the gears to cross the finish line with a run of 8.95 seconds at 164 mph. You're looking at the world's first eight-second EVO.
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Viii Right Front View

We know you want us to tell you what it takes to get an EVO into the eights. We'll do you one better and share Buschur's plan to make it into the sevens. It starts with a comprehensive workover, courtesy of Gary Reese. Front and rear driveshaft loops were built and a Stroud parachute was installed in conjunction with a flat floor in the rear of the car. The factory core was replaced with a lightweight chromoly unit. A 2-gallon fuel cell was installed in the front of the car, so the pump moved up front as well.

On top of that, Gary designed a new center member for the front of the car that runs longitudinally and incorporates an engine and transmission mount as well as a rear differential support bar. Both pieces bolt in and can be used on any EVO, a modification that Buschur says knocks 25 pounds off the car. In this black EVO, the brace helps stabilize the violent action of a Bushwhacker transmission, which is fed power by an Exedy triple-plate clutch.

By now you've seen enough high-horsepower EVO engines to know roughly what it takes to crank out the numbers without going boom. The guys at Buschur used their drop-in JE Pistons/Crower Rods kit in conjunction with their Racing Spec cams, valve springs and retainers inside the engine, along with ARP head studs to hold it all together.