Big grunt, downforce, and a silky-smooth driving style to complement the grip offered by four-wheel drive make for an impressive demonstration of speed. Taniguchi’s textbook driving style is something that enthusiasts can savor watching, since the cornering speed he’s capable of looks so effortlessly attained. Yet, for a car built to this specification, it’s that style which works best.

The G-Force Evo IX is traction exemplified. Lightweight Volk TE37SL wheels are wrapped in 295-section Advan A050 tires, which are thrust into the road with a widebody aero kit made from carbon. Vented rear fender flares to release pressure and gain top speed, two-step sideskirts designed to smoothen the flow of air around the Evo’s flanks, a shelf of a front splitter, and canards that double as meat cleavers constitute the Voltex G-Force aero kit.

While they help stuff the Advans into the asphalt, a set of custom-valved Ohlins DFV dampers controls body movement, and the super-stiff Hyperco springs keep the aero platform stable so those wings can work consistently.

It’s the motor which almost steals the spotlight from the otherwordly angles and slants that define the car’s appearance. A 2.3-liter Tomei stroker kit helps with low-end torque, and a Tomei 272-degree cam keeps everything flowing nicely all the way to the 7,500-rpm redline. The blower of choice is a Borg Warner EFR 8374 that is designed for lightning response. While this car makes 655 horsepower, the emphasis was always on engine response and usable torque, so that the car could capitalize on its four-wheel drive system and catapult out of the corner without delay. With 565 lb/ft of torque available at 4,700 rpm and a Holinger sequential gearbox keeping the motor in its sweet spot, there’s rarely any time when the Evo isn’t capable of mule-kicking its occupants’ kidneys into a fine paste.

Harnessing the Lancer’s Peculiar Handling Traits

It’s all about maximizing the corner exit speed with a car like this, and Nobuteru Taniguchi happens to be one of the best at that particular skill. Not overcooking the entry once, Taniguchi uses the massive Endless brakes to help rotate the car into the corner, or for medium-speed bends he uses a light lift of the throttle to tip the nose in. From then on, it looks simple but it’s very well-coordinated; he just does it so well it almost looks graceful.

To Floor, or Not to Floor?

His throttle control is world-class. Never does he turn in early and depress the loud pedal a fraction too soon. He waits until the moment he can begin to unwind his hands, and then coordinates that steering release with a forceful-but-progressive application of the throttle. It’s a fairly textbook approach to driving, but he’s always so delicate with the controls and his timing is right. On occasion, he changes his style slightly.

At 0:33, he floors the gas to help the rear of the car turn through the short, medium-speed corner. The angle of the corner is conducive to this approach, and the speed is high enough so that he can use the inertia to help it rotate and keep it from understeering, and so the car is happy to oversteer slightly on the gas. In slow corners, once he begins to apply the throttle, he keeps his foot down and doesn’t lift.

This keeps the car moving forward without pushing into understeer; corner exit is where the Evo will find the most time in slower corners.

Only in the high-speed right leading onto the front straight does he do any throttle feathering. Having to keep the car planted as he tips it in at 125 mph, he prods the throttle once or twice, wandering slightly off-line and then back on-line before reaching the apex and booting it. Even though a bit of banking helps keep him stuck on the inside, the speeds dictate one line through the corner, and so timing is all important.