Sweet dreams are made of these
There is perhaps no other car maker which has become so successful in improving a model range than Mitsubishi and its Lancer Evolution Series. Since the Evolution III replaced the bulky Galant VR4 in the World Rally Championship in the 90s, the Evolution has captured the hearts and imagination of car enthusiasts worldwide.
With its aggressive styling and brutal performance, the Evolution series, particularly the highly prized Evolution V to VI, is a car enthusiast’s dream. Since Tommi Makinnen steered the Evo to four WRC titles, the list of Evo owners has become longer.
By the sheer blessing of God Almighty and a very generous brother, my lifelong quest of having an Evolution in my garage became a reality middle of this year. This fine example of Japanese engineering roared to life in a barn in Nueva Ecija when a fish vendor started selling the “toys” of his husband. A caller told me that a Nissan R33 GTR was up for grabs and so was a white Lancer. With my good friend Olson Camacho of Project O in tow, I drove up to the vendor’s rice granary where the two cars were kept. Lo and behold, the other car at the end of the barn was a Lancer alright. The vendor did not know she had a diamond in the rough right in her backyard. The car was no ordinary Lancer; it was an Evolution. That was the start of what I and Camacho tagged project white knight.