Location: Pampanga Philippines
The Culprit: C! Magazine
The victims: Evos 4 to 7

A couple of months ago we were invited by C! Magazine to a top secret (sort of) shootout involving some of the finest cars ever to grace Philippine roads. I am talking about the Lancer Evolution series of vehicles. C! Magazine had an idea to pit the evos, from 4 to 7, against each other in a duel of sorts. The venue: an empty Clark Expo Filipino, a very very long bridge, as well as a section of deserted, twisty roads lining up the ash laden backways of Clark Air Base.

We met with the C! magazine crew at around 8 am at the Holiday Inn Mimosa. After grabbing a quick breakfast we were handed out programmes for the day. Browsing through the list, I came upon such terms as "slalom test", "acceleration test", "braking test", and other such terms. The drowsiness in my eyes quickly went away as we saw a glorious lineup of cars in the parking lot. Already present was a white Evo 4, a white Evo 5, a silver Evo 6, and a pristine silver Evo 7. After a few mins. of chit chat, we decided to head on our way to the venue because we were already running about an hour or so late.

Arriving at the empty parking lot of the Expo Filipino, we saw ace drive Kookie Ramirez already preparing the tires and pylons for the slalom test. The evos went to get their dose of performance fuel and as they came back, we could here the growl of their turbocharged engines even when they were still far away. We were going to start the program when another white Evolution 5 came up, the guy apparently arriving a little late.

Also arriving late was a car carrier that had a brand new yellow Evolution 7 on its back. So all in all there were 6 cars, one Evo 4, two Evo 5s, one Evo 6, and two Evo 7s. The first order for the day was a photo shoot with the cars all lined up. It was really one hell of a sight as the 6 cars, totalling in value at around 10 million or so, struck their respective poses for the cameras. After that we headed on to a very long bridge for the acceleration test.

The rules for this test were simple, it wasn't about burning up the clutch (although at the end of the day, some of the clutches were indeed worn out). All launches were to be made at 3,000 rpm to ensure consistency. Also, the cars were driven by either Angelo Barretto or Kookie Ramirez, both of them veteran race car drivers. As each car made its run, we had to content with just viewing the time sheets. 0-100kph times were very conservative, mostly in the 5 or 6 second territory. The figures seemed high but the fact remains that the cars were launched at a very low 3,000 rpm. The silver Evo 7 didn't get to run much because it's intercooler hose kept popping off. This may be due to the fact that the engine sported a huge T60+ series turbocharger. The turbo was ready to make huge horsepower but the engine hasn't been tuned yet.


The acceleration test finished at around lunch time so we decided to head back to the main Clark Air Base to get something to eat. I and Raymond rode in one of the white Evo 5s, and wherever the cars went, people were really staring at us. I don't' think I had ever seen a convoy as intimidating as the one we had that day. After a hearty lunch buffet, we went back to the Expo parking lot for the Gs test.

This is where the drivers (Angelo or Kookie) took each Evo and ran it in a circle, attempting to record how many maximum Gs the car was capable of in cornering before breaking out. The Evo 4 was the wildest, pushing its tail out at the slightest flooring of the gas pedal. It therefore recorded the lowest numbers, at around the mid 90s. The Evo 5 and 6 performed quite good, their tails only coming out a few times. But the Evo 7 was really a sight to behold.

No matter how much throttle Kookie fed the car, it just wouldn't lose grip. I suppose this could be attributed to the active differential as well the other new high tech stuff it had to offer. They even tried switching the differential to different profiles (snow, tarmac, etc.). Some settings were grippier while others enabled the tail to come out ever so slightly. In the end, more than 1 Gs was what the Evo 7 had to offer, an incredible feat indeed.

Next up was the braking test. Strips of rubber were laid down as each car took its turn in trying to set the fastest time and shortest distance. In the end, the Evo 7 prevailed again, coming to a full stop a few feet before any of the other cars.

The final official test was the slalom run. As each car ran through the course, I couldn't help thinking how watching the runs kind of felt similar to watching the Best Motoring videos of Japan. I could hear the tires squealing and it seemed that some of them were really being pushed to the limits. Well, what can I expect? The guys doing the runs were professional race car drivers, they sure knew how to handle those beasts.


After Kookie and Angelo finished with the official runs, the owners of the cars were given a chance to try out the course by themselves. Even the owner of the trailered yellow Evo 7 couldn't resist running his car.

The final task for the day was a photo shoot in a partly deserted section of twisting, up and down roads. The drivers had the freedom of taking the corners flat out. But they had to slow down for the occasional photo op. Unfortunately, the Evo 6 that I rode in was plagued with a slipping clutch, the rpms kept dipping and we couldn't maximize the speed of the car. The others however, definitely had more fun. We came across Angelo Barretto driving one of the Evo 5s and was he fast! At first he backed off to let us have the head start. And as we were already on the opposite lane going back to the Expo, he suddenly come out one of the corners with tremendous speed and with a really big smile on his face.

As the sun went down we parted ways and I took one last glimpse of all the cars parked in one straight line. In my mind I knew that the long drive home was going to be different. I just had a day of automotive thrills with one of the finest cars to ever come out of Japan. It was indeed a rare and exciting experience. One particular picture can best sum up what I felt during that day. This photo (taken by Angelo) shows the Evo 6 picking up speed, with me in the front passenger's seat sporting a very very big smile on my face.

 

Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun, man I wish North Americans had a chance to get EVO IV to EVO VII, my personal favorite, is the EVO VI, followed by the current EVO VIII.

 

man the evo6 is so damn aggressive.. the evo 7 and 8 just doesnt compare in that regards

 

my personal favorite is the Evo 5. we even have more Evo 5s here than 8s even though there are more 8s worldwide than the 5s which are very limited models only. to me, its the evo with the most agressive look and performance.