Napier engineering performance experts play part in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution series, reports Alastair Sloane
The line-up of special-edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution models produced for the European market over the past five years has a special New Zealand connection - much of the tweaking needed to boost the cars' performance is done by Napier company WRC Developments.
The international reputation of the engineering performance house and its directors, Graham Neale and Warren Heath, cropped up this week after Mitsubishi UK unveiled its most powerful road-going Lancer Evolution model yet - the FQ-400 Evo X.
It's an all-wheel-drive, four-door flyer that gets from zero to 100km/h in a supercar-like 3.8 seconds and produces 300kW and 525Nm of torque from its boosted 2-litre engine. Top speed is an electronically governed 250km/h and its road-going price in Britain is listed at £49,999 ($130,000). It goes on sale there next week.
Neale and Heath worked as advisers in the development of the new car, unlike their hands-on role in previous Lancer Evolution projects such as the special-edition FQ-320, FQ-340, and FQ-360. "We were involved in the initial development of the FQ-400 project, the first 24-hour race car," said Neale. "We helped get that set up.
"But for the new FQ-400 itself, we had much less of an involvement. Much of the development work was done in England on the engine's turbocharging, rather than the electronic programming side of things that I specialise in."
The FQ-400 Evo X is not the first Lancer Evo to carry the FQ-400 designation. Neale and Neath reworked the engine in the Evo VIII to break the 400bhp, or 300kW, barrier. "It was the most powerful 2-litre car around," said Neale.
The two British engineers set up shop in Napier in January 2007. It gave them an early start in working on the first go-fast versions of the Evo X for the British market.
"New Zealand was the first country to get the Evo X after Japan, in late 2007," said Neale. "The UK didn't get the Evo X until last year. By that time we had already developed special Evo X models for the UK."
Neale began his career with BMW, as an engineer on its motorsport development programme. Since then he has worked for Prodrive, both on the Subaru World Rally Championship team and the GT race programme, looking after cars like the Ferrari 550 and Aston Martin DBR9.
Fellow director and engineer Heath started with one of Britain's leading Aston Martin outlets. Along the way he has restored historic Formula One cars for a private collector, worked with Prodrive and Subaru, Hyundai's rally team, started his own engine development company and built Evo IX engines for the Tom Walkingshaw Group.
The new FQ-400 is the flagship Lancer Evo model, the fastest and most extreme version of Mitsubishi's motorsport-derived machine.
It delivers power to all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and the carmaker's Super-All Wheel Control (S-AWC) system, which uses all sorts of electronic gizmos to send drive to the wheels that can best use it, thus improving traction, grip, stability.
Like the standard model, it comes with three driving modes - Tarmac, Gravel and Snow - for the most suitable surfaces.
Increasing the FQ-400's cornering ability even further over its FQ relatives is a wider track and lowered suspension featuring Eibach springs and Bilstein shock absorbers.
Lightweight 18-inch, nine-spoke alloy wheels fitted with Toyo Proxes R1R tyres enhance the FQ-400's grip, giving it sharper cornering response on the road and more incisive steering, says the carmaker.
Apart from the reworked powerplant, Mitsubishi says it remapped the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to allow the 2-litre turbocharged unit to mix its power with driveability.
Peak torque is available from 3500rpm, allowing the car to "trickle through town traffic".
The FQ-400 looks every bit the rally refugee too, giving a strong "nod" to the styling cues of the legendary Evolution VI, and builds on the already aggressive style of its Lancer Evolution X FQ relatives.
A heavily vented bonnet helps heat escape from the engine and a new lightweight composite front bumper with Mitsubishi's trademark grille features carbon-fibre elements on its leading edges. The front ride height helps the aggressive look - it drops by 30mm.
