By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Here's the EVO X that Vivid Racing is building for SEMA this year. The car features a body kit by Valdi Sport and the Agency Power twin scroll GT35R turbo kit helps get this beast up to 650 hp. Check out the Vivid Racing ride page for more pics and all the specs. We'll have more updates on this car as we get closer to SEMA.

By Ryan Douthit

Subiesport Magazine

Consider your average racetrack: By itself it’s just a strip of pavement, and not a very attractive strip at that. It will certainly have crumbling edges, linear grooves carved into its back and strokes of melted rubber slathered in crazed zig-zags—usually near the corners. And unlike public roads, it doesn’t even go anywhere. It just sits there, baking in the sun.

Add a couple thousand pounds of steel, several gallons of petrol and a piece of meat behind the wheel, and that lonely and circuitous path takes on a whole new meaning. It has a rhythm, a harmony. Much like with music, it’s not just the instrument; the composer and performer are important, too. Change any one of these elements and a delicate concerto can easily be warped into a bombastic stadium anthem.

This brings me to a day I spent recently at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. I flew into LAX on the red eye from Seattle, picked up an Evolution X MR from the press fleet--thanks, Mitsubishi--and made the trek an hour and a half north towards the desert.

This wasn’t my first time with the Evo X. I had already driven it around Laguna Seca for a couple laps earlier this year as part of a massive press day. Back then I even took the Vishu-tuned EVO GSR for a spin. To be honest, that whole day was a haze of petroleum-induced overload. Simply too many cars in one day. I do remember preferring the punkier Vishnu GSR, but that’s about it. Continue reading...

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

A new EVO owner was getting on the gas a bit when his accelerator pedal snapped off! Not exactly confidence inspiring... Get the full story at EvolutionM (via Jalopnik).

By John Coyle

Editor

Thanks to a delayed plane, I got to the hotel just as the media credentials staff was packing up. Fortunately, they were totally understanding and hooked me up with my press badge, and they also got me a spot on the media bus that's heading up the hill tomorrow morning. The bad news? Said bus leaves at a mind-bendingly early 4:15AM. Ouch. After I found out how little sleep I'll be getting, I walked out to see if I could find any cool rides in the parking lot, and I wasn't disappointed. I spotted an EVO, an Audi, and a Subie, but the sickest cars were vintage machines wearing La Carrera Panamericana livery. Along with a burly '64 Falcon and a '54 Lincoln Capri with a gorgeous patina, there was a '54 Corvette and '54 Oldsmobile Super 88. I actually got to talk with the Super 88's driver, Doug Mocket, and his crew chief Oscar Casilla, and they filled me in on some of the car's details. The motor is a modern Chevy 350 mated to a Jericho racing gearbox, and the sheet metal is riding on the chassis from an '80s Camaro, so it's an "Olds en Nombre Solemente," or "Olds in Name Only." Apparently the car has been bashed up pretty badly a few times, so it seems fitting that the under the driver and co-driver names painted on the doors, their blood types are listed. Let's hope nobody needs to use that info. I'll try to get the scoop on the rest of the cars tomorrow, for now, check out a bunch of pics after the jump.

By John Coyle

Editor

Straight out of the box, Mitsubishi's EVO delivers wicked performance, and with some choice upgrades, these babies can hang with cars which cost twice as much. That said, I'd love to see some footage of RR's ride on the track—just look at the huge turbo he's installed! Of course, the turbo isn't the only mod he's done. Head over to his page to check out the rest of them! Congrats man!

By Mike

AKA Mr. Angry

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to talk numbers. Two numbers, actually: the number 1131 and the number 1248. What do these numbers pertain to, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Numero uno is the number of Subaru STIs registered here at CarDomain and numero dos represents the Mitsubishi Evos on CarDomain. Both cars are wicked little bastards--all wheel drive, 300hp, with handling and acceleration characteristics that would make full-blown super cars from twenty years ago run for cover. These are both great cars, they have bulletproof mills, all-day comfort and a pretty decent ride to boot.

My question is, why did you--the 2379 of you--buy these cars? Are they everyday drivers, track day weapons, or both? My only foray into this market was back in 1998 when I bought a brand new Subaru Legacy GT. Nice car but PAINFULLY slow. I kept thinking, "man, if this thing just had some motor it would awesome." So, are they? Lets hear some road and track experiences, why you love 'em, etc.--enlighten me, people. (And don't turn this into an STI / EVO pissing contest!)

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

I'm predicting 2008 is gonna be a great year for gearheads. Why? Cause a ton of cool cars will be hitting dealer lots. Here's my list of the ten hottest cars for 2008 (and this is our last year-end top ten list, I promise).

1. Nissan GT-R. 'Nuff said.

2. Dodge Challenger. Though I still have to see it in person.

3. Tesla Roadster. Ignore the doubters and the haters.

4. Mustang Bullitt. Worth it just for the Dark Highland Green.

5. Corvette ZR1. The Veyron is silly--this is a real supercar.

6. Impreza WRX STI. Sure, it won't win any beauty contests, but it's better than ever.

7. Mitsubishi EVO. Might not please the purists, but this is a much improved car.

8. BMW 1-Series. Long live the 2002.

9. Chevy Malibu. Does Detroit finally have a Camry beater?

10. Pontiac G8. V8, RWD, good looks and under $30k--what else do you want? 

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

Motor Trend just tested the new Evo back to back with the old Evo. So what did they think? "Whereas the IX is frenetic, raw, and noisy, the X is calm, cool, and collected... The clarity and rawness of the IX has been smoothed over in the X, with no replacement in terms of excitement. Though the X may be more proper and polished when it speaks to you, the IX tells better stories." Read the rest over at Motor Trend.

By John

Editor

Sara—who apparently also goes by EvoLady—has already put almost 100K on her 2003 Evo, so she really must dig being behind the wheel. Just check out this footage of her whipping it around an autocross course. It makes me wish we had more GoPro cameras to give out!

By John

Editor

Our friends at Road & Track were front and center for the GTR reveal, and they captured this killer footage. Check out Godzilla's American debut, then stick around to watch footage of the new Jaguar XF, the Viper SRT10 ACR and Mitsubishi's new EVO.

By John

Editor

Ok, so I know the driver of the EVO totally creamed that cone, but other than that little slip-up, I think this looks like a textbook perfect donut. The dude in the Civic also pulls off a pretty sweet J-turn. This video makes me want to go find a big parking lot and get stupid.

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

To follow up on last week's G8 vs Evo post (which got over 100 comments!), it seems like the majority of you prefer the Evo to the G8. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it's cause the G8 is a brand new nameplate, which gives it a definite disadvantage. Regarding the manual tranny, as far as I can tell, it will be available on the G8 at some point in the future, but GM is being kind of vague about when. For you Evo fans, Road & Track has a pretty good first drive writeup. I'll cook up another new car match-up for you guys to weigh in on tomorrow, so stay tuned.

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

This week Pontiac released official pricing for the new G8. And Mitsubishi released official photos of the new Evo X. So we have two new fast four doors priced at around $30k for 2008. One is a domestic V8, the other an import turbo four banger. Sounds like an awesome match up. I know I'd rather have the Pontiac if it came with a stick. But it doesn't, so I'm thinking in this case I'd ignore my domestic bias and go for the Evo. Which would you rather have?

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

Yeah, pretty much everyone has seen this car by now, but Mitsubishi officially unveiled the car today. I think this car looks hot (I'm still not sold on the new STI) and can't wait to see it in person. The 2.0 liter turbo four banger puts out 295 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque and pricing is said to be around $30k. More official photos over at Left Lane News.