Behind The Scenes. Unlimited Works Japan.

I guess everyone has their own preference for what type of vehicle they would like to race or even drive on the road for that matter. But if Time Attack was your chosen discipline, and you were serious about winning, then you would seriously have to consider a Mitsubishi Evo. And when you think of really fast Evos there are two in particular that (in Japan at least) have stood head and shoulders above the rest. One is the legendary HKS 230R that still holds the record at Tsukuba circuit to this day and the other is a privateer owned car that in recent times has been closing in on this lap record. This car is known as the infamous “Cyber Evo”. Whilst the CT230R is built by the might of HKS drawing on all its extensive resources, the Cyber Evo is at the other end of the spectrum with the whole car essentially “engineered” by a Tokyo based Dentist with a penchant for fast cars and maintained by a small Mitsubishi specialist workshop known as Unlimited Works. Today we take you behind the scenes as we have a look around one of the best Mitsubishi tuner shops in Japan

As with most of the shops in Japan, they may have a big name, but due to the dense population in Japan they are usually small in nature. As we pull up out the front I am fairly certain are certain we are in the right place, with a nice red Evo X sporting a big bi-plane Voltex wing, and a black Evo IX taking up residence in the courtyard

As we move inside I spot another very modified Evo V that is sporting the famous “Cyber Evo” moniker. I am unsure of what this is all about as I thought there was only one Cyber Evo! Regardless this was one really cool car with lightweight everything, widened wheel arches and no doubt a very healthy 4G63 under the heavily ventilated hood. It is interesting to note the “style” that is so uniquely Japanese but is now emulated worldwide as the rest of the world discovers the magic of time attack racing.

As we walk further to the rear of the workshop I notice the iconic Cyber Evo tucked away in a corner with the turbo and manifold removed. What I love about this is this really demonstrates the “grass roots” nature of time attack racing. There is no enormous glitzy workshop with teams of engineers. These guys are just a bunch of dedicated passionate mechanics from a little workshop outside Tokyo, and a dentist who had a dream to be the fastest. Takizawa-san, the owner is very hands on with this whole project and does the entire engine tuning, and calls all of the shots regarding suspension and aero settings. The driver “Tarzan” refers to him as the “total engineer” who can make the appropriate changes, often just by watching or listening. Amazing stuff considering his chosen profession is a world away from the world of motor racing, and with the retirement of the HKS 230R, in the world of time attack, this is THE car to beat with only a select few even getting close. Ask anyone that was at World Time Attack!

Unlimited works also appear to produce their own extensive range of products for the Evo but unfortunately the language barrier prohibited me from learning the full extent of this. Whatever the case these guys have certainly put themselves right into the world spotlight with the unquestionable domination by the Cyber Evo at World Time Attack and all without any prior track knowledge and virtually no practice as the engine broke the Camshafts on day one and was forced to sit out while the Unlimited works team worked through the day and night to get the car back on track and take the trophy back to Japan with them against all the odds! Below is the owner of Unlimited Works in the white Advan racing shirt talking with two of the guys from Tomei Powered who were kind enough to take us out to see the Cyber Evos lair! The guy sitting on the laptop is “CT” Hansen, the marketing manager from Yokohama Australia who is sending an email to his boss saying “man I just walked in to this little shop in Tokyo and this guy is wearing the coolest Yokohama “Advan” racing shirt In have ever seen. Where is mine??”

We hope you are enjoying our “behind the scenes” section of our website. The idea here is to take you to some interesting places we have been, places that you may never have the chance to visit yourself but would love to see. Stay tuned for more interesting stuff next week. In the meantime check out some cool footage of the Cyber Evo in action below.