After a couple of years at the top of the unibody import class, this year we're trying our hand at the next level of import drag racing - the Pro Import class. And the car you see here is our weapon of choice - the new Extreme Motorsports tube-chassis Mitsubishi Mirage.


Weighing in at around 1700 lbs (w/driver), the Extreme Mirage is looking to raise the bar in the Pro Import class. With this car, we're hoping to become the first 4G63-powered car in the 7's. But more importantly than the 7-second goal, we're also hoping that this car will be the first 6-second 4-cylinder Pro Import ever.


To achieve these goals, we're in the process of building a seriously mean import. The car is powered by the same 4G63 motor that propelled our race Talon into the record books last year with the first-ever 8-second unibody drag run. The 2500+ lb Talon racked up consistent 155+ MPH passes last year, due in no small measure to the 4G63's 780 dyno-measured wheel HP. This year, we have a number of tricks up our sleeve, and expect to squeeze another 100 HP out of the motor.


On the tranny side, the Mirage will be putting the power to the pavement via massive slicks and a 5-speed clutchless transmission (with a slider clutch for the launch). From a racing point of view, this transmission and drivetrain is an incredible improvement over the 5-speed in the Talon:

We can launch the car at a much higher rev level.
Shifting is just a matter of moving the lever - we never need to push in the clutch or lift off the gas, so the turbo stays spooled up for the entire run.
With the Talon, we were constantly granny-shifting it so as to not break the transmission. Not so here.

When we get this combination shaken out, we expect the Mirage will run some pretty low ET numbers, and hope to hit around 190 MPH in the quarter mile!


At the time of this writing (early May 2002), the Mirage is being assembled in our shop. We have some engine work to do, and need to finish wiring the car and have the custom graphics installed. We expect that within a month the car will be at the track for some shakedown runs. Once the car is dialed in, we'll be competing at a number of NHRA, IDRC and NDRA (NOPI) events against the likes of Dave Buschur's Talon, Adam Saruwatari's NSX, Abel Ibarra's RX-7 and Ben Mas' Focus. We hope to see you there!

Engine details:

Jackson Auto Machine / Extreme Motorsports race motor
Extreme Technologies turbocharger
Extreme Technologies custom intake manifold
Extreme Technologies front-mounted intercooler
Extreme Technologies custom fuel system
Extreme Technologies XBC manual boost controller
John Little custom exhaust manifold
Injen intercooler piping
Unorthodox Racing adjustable cam sprockets
2-stage direct-port nitrous system from Nitrous Express

Chassis/tranny details:

Liberty 5-speed transmission
Titanium bellhousing
Chassis custom-built in Puerto Rico, but revised/refined by John Little, who spent over 600 hours to tune the chassis
Koni electonically adjustable shocks
Carbon-fiber brakes

**** Extreme Motorsports.....they are all ******! I hope that thing doesnt even run 8's....

Well at least it's not as bad as that retarded "Focus".

Cause you know, theres a production twin turbo v6 ford focus....

The mirage at least has a powerplant that has been in the chassis before.