I bought the Stallion under the influence of the movie “Cannonball 2”

I fell in love at first sight with the car that actor Jackie Chan drove in the movie “Cannonball 2” when I was in middle school. When he learned that it was a Mitsubishi Stallion, he fell in love with it. He also happened to be watching the TV drama “Gorilla: The Eighth Squad of the Metropolitan Police Department Investigation,” in which a blister-fender Stallion appeared. I have grown up always wanting to drive this car someday,” said Katsuki Miyahara, a resident of Hiroshima Prefecture, as we present the story of him and his Stallion.

The stallion was found buried in a thick growth of weeds

After obtaining his driver’s license, Katsuki Miyahara drove a Toyota first generation “Celica,” a Nissan 3rd generation “Skyline,” a 330 “Cedric,” a “Leopard,” and a Chevrolet C4 “Corvette,” and one day he happened to visit a car store where he found an abandoned “Starion 2600 GSR-VR” in the back yard. that was abandoned in the backyard of a car shop he happened to visit. The moment he saw this car, he felt a longing that he had had since junior high school, and decided to buy it after consulting with the store to revive it.

The body was covered with ivy and a tree had grown out of the engine compartment, but Mr. Miyahara cherished the chance encounter and began restoration work to make it a car that could be driven on public roads again.

The restoration process began with disassembling the car with the help of a store and sorting out the usable and unusable parts. During this process, it was discovered that the car had been heavily tuned. A closer look at the engine installed reveals that the stock engine should have been a 2L inline 4-cylinder G63B type, but this car is equipped with a 4G63 turbo.

As those familiar with cars will recall, this engine is the power unit used in the Lancer Evolution III. Its speed is superb, and it is a masterpiece that will go down in history.

The car we got is equipped with a Lancer Evo-mounted 4G63 turbo

The Stallion that Mr. Miyahara purchased was equipped with such an attractive engine, so in a sense, it was a bargain. Moreover, when checking the vehicle inspection certificate, the displacement is 1997 cc, and it is registered as an officially approved vehicle with the word “Kai” in its model number. In addition, since the engine displacement is down from the stock 2600cc, it is also cheaper and more economical in terms of taxes and insurance premiums. The engine is capable of increasing power, so it was a great deal for the owner. It was truly a jackpot vehicle.

The restoration and tuning were done by a famous local shop, “Racing House Sakai,” and the car was completely restored so that it could be driven on public roads. For the detailed specifications of Mr. Miyahara’s Stallion, the engine body was stock standard and the gasket was replaced with a metal gasket to prevent blowouts. The turbine was replaced with a Lancer Evolution V turbine, which was introduced as the successor to the Lancer Evolution III and has even more potential, and the intake and exhaust were tuned.

Mr. Miyahara is not looking for more power in the engine, so this tuning is just a way to make it more comfortable to drive on the street. He does not use a boost controller to increase boost pressure, so he tunes the engine at about 0.8kgf/cm2, which is close to stock boost, and does not force the engine or turbine.

Tuning for both driving and staring

Mr. Miyahara is particular about keeping the interior in stock condition as much as possible. A Defi tachometer, Autogauge boost gauge, and water temperature gauge are set on the dashboard, but other than that, the stock steering wheel, gauges, and panel switches were left in place to function.

This car looks stock on the outside, but it is a vehicle with a very particular specification on the inside. Full-length adjustable one-off coilovers were installed, with spring rates of 12kg in the front and 10kg in the rear, to secure stroke and lower the vehicle height appropriately. Pillow upper mounts were added to the suspension to add a camber for both driving and staling.

The wheels that fit the intense impact blister fenders are Work Meister S1 (F 9J x 17, R 11J x 17) that can be made to order in detail in size, and the tires are Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 2 (F 235/45-17, R 255/40-17). It was.

On the outside, the Stallion 2600GSR-VR is a rare car, sold in a limited edition of only 50 units at the time. However, its contents are appealing in that it has the potential of the Lancer Evolution inside. Retaining the good qualities of the original while enhancing its functional aspects, this sharp-specification Stallion was designed not only to be comfortable but also to be fast and pleasant to drive. Mr. Miyahara said of this car

“Everything about this car, including the subsequent tuning, went in the right direction and resulted in a very satisfying result,”

he commented.

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