Evolution VIII

NZPC: Hi, Rizwan. Why did you choose the Evo VIII, and had you owned an Evolution prior to this?

Rizwan: Hey, guys. I had never owned an Evo before but always had an interest in getting my hands on one. This popped up for sale as a New Zealand–new car, and something about the bright yellow paintwork made it irresistible to buy.

Is it a different beast to tackle from the other cars you have owned?

Yeah, it was a bit of a leap from what I had driven before. I traded my S2000 for this, in the end; the changeover from a rear-wheel-drive naturally aspirated Honda to an all-wheel-drive turbo was pretty different.

It’s quite heavily modified — was there a car or person that you drew ideas from?

All my friends are into building up their cars and going drag racing, and, with the help of Autech Evolution, there wasn’t really any limit to modifying the car. That’s how the stroker kit came about, not to mention all the other race-specific internal parts. An evening of shisha is more than enough to make a few extra kilowatts.

You’ve set an impressive quarter-mile time —