The first Lancer Evolution for sale in the USA was the Evo VIII, and I was an early adopter. Having previously owned a second generation turbo Eclipse, I knew the potential of this engine.
Back then, I had a 2002 WRX with modest upgrades, including an ihi vf30 turbocharger. A lot of us had jumped from Hondas into the WRX camp. When it was announced that Mitsubishi was finally bringing the Evo here, we were buzzing with endless speculation, most of it guesswork based on absolutely nothing. The general consensus among our group was that the car would be dumbed down for US consumption. One of the leading thoughts was that the US Evo would be neutered of its 16G and instead receive a carryover T25 turbo from the Eclipse.
Boy, were we dead wrong. The VIII with only a few negative changes hit the US with a vengeance. I knew I would probably do something stupid if I saw one, and avoided Mitsubishi dealerships altogether for a couple of weeks. This did not last. I went to our local dealership to see the car in person and took a test drive. Within ten seconds behind the wheel, my WRX morphed from a tuner wagon into a relic from an ancient civilization in my mind. The Evo didn't have an impossible to service boxer engine. Instead, it had a proper inline engine, razor precise steering, gearing that wasn't hijacked from a truck, a huge stock turbocharger, and bright red Brembo brakes that looked like they could stop a train.
Shortly later, I went to another Mitsubishi dealership and promptly traded my WRX in on the Tarmac Black Evo VIII you see here. I'll never forget the homecoming, pulling it into my garage the first time, and dragging my wife outside to see.
"What do you think?", I asked excitedly.
"Man, ricer wing!", she replied casually.
Every man should be so lucky to have a woman like this in his corner.
Two days later I brought it to work for the first time. One of my co-workers and friends who knows and shares my automotive tastes saw it in the parking lot and ran upstairs to tell me: "Dude... Black turbo Mitsubishi. Brembos, rims, hood vent... In our back parking lot. Did you see it?!?"
"I'm pretty sure the keys are in my pocket.", I replied.
And so began my time with Evos. Its been a long ride, and I have miles of stories to tell.
