2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII

You're the proud owner of a 2003 Mitsubishi Evo VIII. Bad-ass, right? Think again. Your precious Evo's been the recipient of transplant surgery involving an aftermarket turbo and a methanol injection kit. The car now barely runs and has multiple 'issues'. Pop quiz, hotshot, what do you do?

If your name is Alex de Colon and you're from Bethesda, Maryland, you're in luck. Why? Because Bethesda is mighty close to Washington DC, home of one of the nation's most experienced Evo tuners: Atlantic Motorsports. These guys are so hardcore about the Evo platform that four of the six staff own Evos, and the sixth member is the shop dog, Butch. Atlantic's two shop Evos are well known on the East Coast for their sick power and clean appearance. With these credentials behind them, de Colon knew he could trust this crew. After allowing his Evo to sit around and collect dust for over a year, de Colon finally had enough. He called in the big boys at Atlantic to bring his Evo back to life.

Certain previous improvements did not need correcting, including an ATS triple carbon clutch, a set of Cusco Zero-2R coilovers and an AEM engine management system. When Atlantic asked de Colon what he wanted, the answer was clear: go big on power and give the Evo some JDM goodies. Unlike project cars that belong to big companies and aftermarket tuners, this Evo would be resurrected with de Colon's personal funds. It took several months of saving to make his vision a reality.

The first step was to remove the old turbo and methanol injection pump. A Shearer turbo kit, featuring a massive Garrett GT35R turbo, was expertly installed. Atlantic then polished all the upper and lower intercooler piping, along with an Automotorsports intake manifold, and installed these components. On de Colon's insistence, each runner got its own EGT bung to plug in an AEM EGT sensor, so he'd know exactly what was going on in each hole. Not only is this type of mod pretty damn detail-oriented, but it also qualifies de Colon for honorary membership to his local Star Trek fan club.