Official Press Release

We had an interesting request during the owner selection process – “Can you build a mature version of the 311RS?” By mature, the eventual owner of 311RS #11 was curious if we could build him a car that was a bit more low profile, almost M5-esque. We love a good challenge..

The first part of the equation was to select a color. Mitsubishi offers a very nice navy-like color called Cosmic Blue. It was perfect for our vision. The classy blue would be the base for 311RS #11.

In an effort to achieve the low profile image the owner was after, we removed the OEM trunk and signature wing and equipped the car with a carbon Do-Luck trunk. Now, personally we love the wing on the Evo X and firmly believe it’s a major part to what makes and Evo an Evo. However, Do-Luck’s “duck bill” trunk was the perfect choice for this particular 311RS. We’re happy with the result.

The first step was to paint the dry carbon trunk. In order to match the Mitsubishi’s OEM “orange peel” paintwork, it would require special attention, especially considering the (high quality) carbon fiber construction of the Do-Luck trunk.

The results speak for themselves. With these cars, every aspect of the build must be perfect. The trunk came out just right.

Another piece to the low profile puzzle would be Akrapovic’s titanium exhaust, complete with carbon fiber tips. Our awesome experience with this exhaust on 311RS #01 made it the only choice for this car. And as you can see above, it fits the bill.

The owner of #11 happens to be local to us. 2 miles away from HQ, in fact. He asked if we’d mind allowing him to run through the break-in period prior to officially delivering the car later this summer. Any chance we have at more data is a blessing, so we indulged. Here we see the car during it’s first fill up, 93oct of course!

We’re happy to report that the car has successfully completed break-in. And in the process, met the owners expectations of the perfect Evo X. A huge compliment for us! We’ve got the car back at HQ for a fluid flush, a complete inspection, and of course a full detail. So far so good, and a nice sign of things to come.

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Full-scale 311RS Evo X production is underway!! And what an incredible feeling it is. Let’s run through a few highlights from the past month and a half since we’ve launched production.

The arrival of our 311RS-spec jack stands we commissioned was a big moment. Not only did it mark the launch of production, it also launched our partnership with MSI Mooresport. For more on their operation, please visit http://www.mooresport.com.

Working together with MSI Mooresport was a treat. They allowed us to get creative with the design while at the same time ensuring the stands themselves were stout. In this case, the all-aluminum jack stands will support more than 10,000lbs. each while reaching a maximum height of 24”. Lighter, stronger, taller, and more effective that all other jack stands on the market? We’ll take it as a sign of good things to come from this new partnership.

311RS #01 modeling the jack stands here. We’ve got another 12” of height from here, we just need a taller jack!

Early May brought the first shipments from our suppliers. Evasive Motorsport (www.evasivemotorsports.com) supplies us with our Voltex aero along with our Recaro seats.

As you can see here, one of these is not like the others.. 311RS #10 is fitted with our Voltex Track Aero package.

The differences become even more clear when you get a look at the car from a distance. Voltex’s (www.voltex.ne.jp/english) front lip combined with a 1700mm Type 5 dual element rear wing make for quite a mean combo. #10 is set to be quite the track star.

Next to arrive was our supply of 311RS-spec JRZ suspension components (www.jrzsuspension.com). There were three flavors on offer when spec’ing out a 311RS Evo X – the car comes with JRZ’s RS1 damper as standard. From there, we offer an upgraded RS Pro setup with added adjustability and external reservoirs. And the units pictured are the top of the line 311RS-spec 12 31 Motorsport 3-ways, fully tricked out with quick disconnects and color coded to our spec. These are special. More on these as the cars begin evaluation drives.

With the JRZ’s installed on each car, it was time for the suspension to be aligned. As the saying goes – power is nothing without control, nothing could be more true when it comes to suspension. We’ve spent 5 years dialing in the Evo X’s chassis dynamics and alignment setup. Bring it all together for us is MN-based Jeff Forss, aka The Alignment Guy (www.thealignmentguy.com). Jeff was kind enough to bring his spare set of equipment to 311RS HQ in an effort to improve efficiency. After working out a few kinks, all was well and Jeff conquered all eleven cars in three trips. Many thanks to you, sir.

As they have been since 2006, our braking needs are handled exclusively by Girodisc (www.girodisc.com). We’ve worked together to develop a complete braking package that takes full advantage of the Evo X’s large OEM Brembo calipers. Along with their lightweight two-piece rotors, which in our case remove 24lbs of rotational mass from the car, we’ve produced a 311RS-spec brake pad to handle the multi-purpose nature of the 311RS Evo X. By combining a two compounds, we’ve created a pad that acts just as well on the street as it does when it heats up on track. We’re very proud of these.

Girodisc does a great job of creating a component that’s just as beautiful as it is functional. It’s all in the details and they realize that. Each 311RS also features their Ti shims, stainless brake lines, and Castrol SRF fluid.

With all eleven cars in one place, we’re able to pound out this production process as efficiently as possible. This is a photo from our “downpipe day”. Part of our engine package from AMS Performance (www.amsperformance.com) is an awesome cast widemouth downpipe that allows the Evo X to breathe freely right from the turbo. Unfortunately for us, the Evo X’s engine bay is very tightly packed, making jobs like a downpipe install quite the task. Once through the entire process and we’ve got it down, so in reality it’s not that bad, but we’ll remember that first downpipe for awhile to come.

A random image of our Bosch drill wearing a unibit. Love this thing.

Every once in awhile it’s nice to take a step back and appreciate what we’re doing. Our intern, Collin, is seen here admiring the Voltex front lip on #10.

We’ll conclude this update with a teaser shot of our 311RS-spec CRBD BBX-Lite turbocharger (www.cbrdspeedfactory.com). These ball bearing units are good for over 400whp on pump gas and even more when tuned for VP MS109e race fuel. They make for a very potent upgrade. Next time we’ll run through the final stages of 311RS production and breakdown the latest developments to #09 and the program as a whole. For now…back to HQ.

Nitto has been hard at work developing a new compound for their Max Performance street tire, the NT05. Being that we worked together on the original NT05 compound, it only made sense we be there to help them dial in the new 140TW NT05 with our new dev car, 311RS #09.

The setting for our test was Brainerd International Raceway. Located about 2hrs north of Minneapolis, BIR offers a few things no other tracks in the US offer – a 3/4mi straightaway followed by a nearly flat out banked right hand turn one. A recently paved circuit added an additional challenge for the tires. All of which test a tire in ways not typically seen on most tracks, let alone on the street.

Since the beginning of our program in 2008, we’ve ran nearly an identical wheel and tire setup – an 18×10.5 +18 wheel with a 275/35/18 tire. The NT05s we run are no different, however they do run a slightly narrower than most 275 tires we’ve had on the 10.5” wheels. The narrower NT05 is actually preferred in the case of the 311RS – fitment on the 10.5” wheel is slightly stretched offering an additionally stiffened sidewall and it helps us fit the wheel and tire setup under the Evo X’s fenders with less modification. Note – seen above is the finalized 311RS production ride height. A blend of form and function without compromise.

The premise for our test was to determine whether Nitto’s new soft compound, 140TW vs the original NT05’s 200TW, was not only an upgrade for track focused driving, but really we wanted to know if it was a worthy tire for our 311RS production units. Meaning a) would it offer the performance characteristics our cars require and b) how well do they wear?

We packed #09 with all the tools necessary to conduct this tire test – a jack, a set of jack stands, pyrometer, tire pressure gauge, basic hand tools, fender roller, and of course, Wizards (www.wizardsproducts.com) detailing supplies.

We are excited to announce the launch of our latest development car – 311RS #09.

After the untimely passing of 311RS #00 (crushed by US Govt.), it was imperative we replace it in an effort to keep pushing forward with development of the 311RS program. We saved the #09 production slot in case we found the “right” buyer, or, in this case, fill in for a fallen soldier and live on in it’s honor.

Throughout the process of tearing down #00, we saved bits and pieces for future use on the production units as an homage to #00. Things like the horn, rear view mirror, radiator car, etc. We saved enough to fit each car with a little slice of history. In the case of #09, it got more than just a slice. First off, it received the driver’s side mirror and the championship gold Kill that adorned it. From there, it received the JRZ RS1s, front and rear aero pieces and the one-off Ti exhaust we had made for #00.

In addition to #00’s recycled components, #09 also received a set of Mercury Silver Ce28ns, fresh Nitto NT05s (more on these later) and a tune to keep the engine running smoothly. The result is a simple yet effective test platform from which we plan to develop future upgrades for the owners of the other production 311RS units.

One such future upgrade will be in the power department. We currently offer a Phase One engine upgrade (CBRD BBX-Lite & fuel system) that makes 450whp on VP MS109e and is still covered under our warranty program. However, being who we are, more power is always on our minds. We worked with AMS to develop their cast manifold Evo X turbo kit on ol’ Blue, both on the OEM 4b11T and on AMS’ race engine. We pushed the turbo setup and both engine setups to the extreme on track to find the limits of each component. And while we learned nearly everything there is to know about the setups, one area we didn’t experiment much with was how they’d perform on the street under daily driving circumstances. This is where #09 comes in..

We’ll have more on the AMS turbo kit and all other future developments to the 311RS program in due time. But in the mean time, it’s time to drive the car and enjoy the development process all over again. RIP #00, this one’s for you.

The 9th issue of Evolution magazine has just hit the shelves across the pond. We’re excited to announce our cover feature! Shot by Larry Chen, the cover photo is the first image released of the new 311RS HQ. The article digs deep into the program’s current state, the future, as well as some insight into the development ptrocess with #01. The article also features a full lot of photos from Larry.

If you’re outside the US, you can pick up the paperback copy at select retailers. For those in US, we have a few copies on hand but your best bet would be a to download a copy of the magazine using this link – Pocket Mags

A huge thank you is in order to Darin, Brian, and of course Larry for coming together to create this amazing cover feature.

The time has come to say goodbye to 311RS #00. It’s getting crushed due to a technicality (#00 is a MY09), it cannot be resold or exported.. We fought the good fight for almost two years, but in the end it was the government who won. It had to be disassembled and crushed immediately.

Where do you put eleven Evo Xs? Why 311RS HQ of course. But that begs another question: Where is 311RS HQ? Turns out, it’s in Wayzata, MN.

Look who showed up this morning… 311RS #01 is back home in MN in preparation for unit production this spring. While the car resides in CT, the car was born here and it only makes sense we have it here to help raise the new 311RS puppies.

We had to wait eight months for this day, but my goodness was it worth it. Today 11 Evo Xs arrived at White Bear Lake Mitsubishi, each of which is earmarked for 311RS production. Our allocation of Evo Xs has finally arrived!!! We submitted our order with Mitsubishi last summer: eight Wicked White Evo X GSRs, one Wicked White Evo X MR (dual clutch gearbox), and one Cosmic Blue Evo X GSR.