I think you guys mean Group A. Group N doesn't even come close to competing against WRC spec cars. Group A did. All Evos from I to VI were Group A.

 

I believe you may be jumping to conclusions here.

While the official mitsubishi sponsored entry in the WRC is no longer Group A, the Evolution 7 can definitely compete in both Group A and Group N events, and does comply with homologation rules.

Why is anyone concerned then? Group A restrictions make it so the car that is entered to race must be very close in spec to the production car. This means all the research that goes into making the rally car fast also must go into the production car if the rally car is to be competitive. With the Evo7, this became untrue... because rather large modifications could be made, under the WRC rules, to the engine, turbine, weight distribution, suspension, ventilation without it being implemented in the production model.

Just because the official mitsu entry in the FIA WRC is not Group A any longer, doesn't mean the Evo7 isn't a homologation special.

 

There is an interesting discussion over at Club3G regarding the Evo and this is what someone had to say about the AYC:

http://www.eclipseforums.org/showthr...threadid=74336
The only thing I found out about this ORVR is that it stands for On Board Refueling Vapor Recovery and that its purpose is to reduce evaporative emissions by preventing gasoline vapor from escaping into the atmosphere. I assume that this ORVR pump would be located near the gas tank, thus in the general area of the AYC assembly. Does anybody have any details on this and/or details on the AYC pump?

 

From what I've been told, it does have something to do with the fuel capacity, since the US regulations mandate a certian "range" or distance a car can go on a single tank of gas. Mits needed to install a larger gas tank to accomodate this, and since the AYC system took up SOOO much room, they had to remove it to make room for the larger tank.

Look at this picture. You can see at the rear diff, the AYC (pic from a 7) is huge and can easily see where it would interfer with a larger gas tank:

 

Not knowing the specs for Evo VIII, they could have possibly been able to address a way of fitting both AYC and a larger fuel tank by adjusting dimensions elsewhere to make room both.

 

The reason I was given was the fuel tank issue and the inability to cover an item like that under a warranty.

 

A very good source tells me size of gas tank is the issue. Everything else for AYC/ACD is there. Redesigning the car to accomodate both would have been hard, since the car is not a major redesign from EVO 7.

So I would watch for ACD/AYC next year or in EVO 9.

 

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