Let’s face it. Mitsubishi lost some of its glory after dropping its most prominent nameplates in the tuner world. The most heartbreaking of all is the Evolution line-up. Even with rumors and the promise of a resurgence, you don’t see many Evos, Eclipses, or 3000GTs making headlines anymore. However, that doesn’t mean the triple diamond society is dead. Thanks to Paul Walker and The Fast and Furious franchise, a small community of Mitsubishi Eclipse tuners still thrives.
Mitsubishi tuner cars are popular for a reason. Forget how expensive they are to maintain or how much tender loving care they need not to break down. With the right mods and tune, these 2-liter four-banger rippers can pull four digits on the dyno. Of course, we are talking about the legendary 4G63T stroker.
Even though the Mitsubishi Eclipse didn’t play a lead role in the Fast and Furious movie, the fact that Brian O’Connor drove it was enough to push it to the top of the real-life tuner world.
Zack Klapman of TheSmoking Tire YouTube channel recently featured a Frankenstein 500-hp (507-ps) 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX.
“This actually started off as a Mitsubishi Eclipse GS, which is actually the non-turbo chassis with a naturally aspirated 420A motor which only produces 140 horsepower,” the owner Miguel introduced his car.
Miguel has owned this car for ten years (his first car since senior high school). He didn’t want to sell the car even though it had meager specs. Instead, he did what any other tuner would do – swapped the engine with something more powerful. The powerplant in mind was a Mitsubishi Evolution 8 4g63T engine.
He also converted it from front-wheel-drive to all-wheel-drive, earning the tag ‘GSX.’
To achieve its big power output, Miguel’s '99 Eclipse GSX took in donor parts from three generations of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, earning the title 'Franken-Bishi'. It has an Evo 8 engine, Evo 9 turbo and brakes, Evo 4 transmission, and Evo 5 transfer case.
“Geez, every time it rubs, it sounds like a friendly honk. Those backfires, I can feel through the seats. There’s no muffler on this car. It just dumps right under my seat. I feel like I am in a car with bulletproof glass, and I am part of the test,” Klapman confessed, driving through the canyon hills.
PS: If you are interested in learning more about the build, and some raucous pops and bangs, check out the video below.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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