When we were offered this 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Turbo by Motec Enterprise, we must admit to being more than a little underwhelmed, though the workshop’s representatives assured us it has “plenty of mods”.
Yes, we’ll hold our hand up and say we’re being terrible snobs, but after being fed a steady diet of red-hot European and Japanese rides, we’re accustomed to something a little more, well, upmarket.
However, despite our initial trepidation, we decided to give it a chance, and boy, were we glad we did. There’s something cool about a car that’s come from comparatively humble origins, but turned into a bona fide performance car after an extensive and painstaking process of modding.
Cars such as Mr P’s 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Turbo. This black example may have began life as the fire-breathing Lancer Evolution’s lesser sibling, but after some attention from its owner and Motec Enterprise, it’s transcended its comparatively modest origins.
To the casual observer, however, it might seem Mr P hasn’t done all that much to his Lancer Ralliart at all, beyond the “usual suspects” of some menacing TE37 wheels from Volk Racing with a Kiddo mini 6-pot big brake kit peeking out from between the spokes, and a carbon fibre bonnet from Varis.
Even on the inside, there isn’t much clue to precisely how much has work gone into this car beyond a Bride Zeta 3 bucket seat, HKS turbo timer, HKS EVC-S boost controller and Apex’i boost gauge.
All the visible (relatively speaking, anyway) enhancements to Mr P’s car are choice bits, to be sure, but that belies the amount of work that has gone into making it not quite your run-of-the-mill Lancer Ralliart.
The most outward sign of this Lancer’s enhanced nature are the mods Mr P has done to improve its handling. The car’s squat “stance” is courtesy of a Tanabe Sustec Pro coilover kit. These tout “extremely high performance and comfort”, which puts paid to the old saying that you can’t have your cake and eat it.
Further improving the Mitsubishi’s resistance to body flex is a set of reinforcement items at both ends of the car. The front gets a three-point strut tower bar and the rear, a two-point tie bar for the lower suspension arms. Helping keep excessive body roll in check is a set of beefy 19mm anti-roll bars for both the front and rear axles.
If your interest is piqued already, you’ll also notice those black wheels are shod with Toyo Proxes R888 tyres. Like the rest of the car, the tyre’s name seems ordinary enough, but a quick look at its tread pattern, with its minimal tread pattern and V-shaped grooves means this is a semi-slick tyre. To put in in Toyo’s words, the R888s are designed to “keep you fully under control in extreme driving situations”.
But to see the really juicy mods on this Lancer Ralliart, you’ll need to have either X-ray vision or be a fairly skilled automotive mechanic (or you could just ask Mr P directly, but anyway).
Providing the base for a host of tasty engine mods is a Microtech LT-10S piggyback ECU with tuning carried out by Motec Enterprise. Not impressed yet? Well, pay attention, because we’ll pretty much guarantee you will be by this next bit.
Mr P’s Lancer Ralliart is running a BorgWarner S252 turbocharger running 1.5bar of boost that gives it an output of 350bhp (!) at the flywheel and a “real world” power output of 310bhp at the wheels.
Suffice it to say, the car also has plenty of other enhancements that support this increased power (more than double the stock Lancer Ralliart’s 162bhp). This includes a 38mm wastegate from Turbosmart, a Blitz blowoff valve and a sizeable JASMA front-mounted intercooler.
Supporting that considerably uprated turbocharger is a Turbo-S turbo manifold, a Tomei fuel regulator and an uprated 70mm throttle body courtesy of S90.
But our favourite mod on the Lancer Ralliart, largely because it’s impossible to see, and one that fits perfectly with the car’s stealthy theme is this – the forged engine internals.
So, to Mr P and his Lancer, we apologise for our initial snobbishness, because this is truly one mean machine, and a tip of the hat also goes to Motec Enterprise for helping “birth” this beast.
As Mr P’s car so aptly proves, it isn’t about where you’ve been or where you’ve come from. What really matters is where you’re at now, and in this Lancer Ralliart’s case, it’s in a position of power.
Exterior
Varis carbon fibre bonnet
Interior
BRIDE Zeta 3 seat (driver only)
HKS turbo timer
HKS EVC-S boost controller
Apex’i boost gauge
Engine
Microtech LT-10S piggyback ECU
BorgWarner S252 turbocharger
OEM forged engine internals
Turbosmart 38mm wastegate
Blitz blowoff valve
JASMA front-mounted intercooler
Turbo-S turbo manifold
Tomei fuel regulator
S90 70mm throttle body
Suspension/ Handling
Tanabe Sustec Pro coilovers
OEM 3-point strut bar (front)
OEM lower suspension arm 2-point tie bar (rear)
OEM 19mm anti-roll bars
Kiddo mini 6-pot big brake kit
Wheels/Tyres
Volk Racing TE37 16-inch wheels
Toyo R888, 195/50 R16 tyres
