Revisited! RS Motors Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX RS

At the end of July in 2014 I had my first real photoshoot with a good friend, Brandon (@BrandonRanvek), and his 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX RS that was built for the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. Since then, Brandon has not stopped modifying the car and it has been transformed into a complete monster. The Evo went from being a basic tuned car with some pretty crazy graphics into an all out brawler.

The photoshoot in 2014 resulted in several interesting things. One was the start of “Ranveking”, or the pose Brandon struck with his helmet on in front of the car. Many of our friends mimicked this pose and it caught on! The second thing to come out of the shoot was Brandon’s favorite picture to date. (Below)

The third (and craziest) thing was that almost 3000 people read that first article. One of them was Shane Mitchell (@Mitchellracing969) of southern Florida. Shane took inspiration for his Evo that I photographed at Road Atlanta (the purple one with the crazy wing). Shane was inspired by the Voltex body parts, the simplicity of the powertrain, and decided to follow suit with his own car. Shane even purchased Brandon’s old suspension setup when he upgraded for the new build! But that’s not where the story ends.

In the 2017 TIRE RACK One Lap of America, the RS Motorsports Evo suffered a catastrophic engine failure. This is an event that requires attendees to drive their race cars across the country and compete. It’s a grueling event that covers almost 4000 miles in the span of a week. The RS Motorsports Evo suffered failure in Memphis, Tennessee and reached out to everyone they could asking for help. The next event was in Atlanta, Georgia followed by Sebring, Florida. One south Florida family offered up a motor, a garage, and a couple sets of hands. That was Shane Mitchell.

It just goes to show how small this beautiful world is, and how tight knit the car community can be. Brandon and I have been talking about a follow up photoshoot for a couple of years. When I saw his new build I knew we needed to finally make it happen. So we woke up very early one Sunday in October, braved the cold, and took some pictures.

I want to thank Brandon for building and presenting such a beautiful car. I also want to thank Matt DeReus (@evolveautosport) and Charles Miller (@cmspaz) for providing the support for this shoot. Give them a follow on Instagram and Facebook.

Keep scrolling for a full list of mods below the gallery!

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Motor

1. Fully built 2.3L Stroker set up by Ronnie Soliman of RS Motors (@RSMotors) in Burnsville, MN
2. Forged pistons/rods/ARP headstuds
3. GSC R2 cams
4. Titanium springs, retainers
5. Billet crank
6. STM trans mount breather with two -10AN fittings to valve cover.
7. RaceFab custom baffled oil pan with higher capacity
8. 3quart Accusump for extra security
9. AirRaid filter with 4” intake piping wrapped in gold heat tape.
10. Speed Density, Stock ECU, stock ignition
11. Custom lower IC piping
12. Buschur Street front mount intercooler
13. STM Titanium upper IC piping
14. 1600cc injectors and Twin fuel pump setup w/Hobbs switch
15. Custom Fobiafab exhaust manifold ceramic coated
16. Garret GTX 3576r turbo
17. Tial BOV (powder coat blue)
18. Custom ceramic coated downpipe
19. Greddy titatium exhaust
20. APR carbon radiator cooling cover
21. CBRD alum radiator with mishimoto race fan
22. Mishimoto Evo 6 upper radiator hose
23. Poly motor mounts
24. AMS front underbody brace with solid front motor mount
25. Battery relocated to trunk
26. AC delete
27. Cusco blue powder coat valve cover

Drivetrain

1. TRE edition Liberty DogBox (now modified stock with straight cut 4th while we figure out what’s next).
2. QuarterMaster Twin Race clutch
3. Cusco center diff
4. JDM 12 plate rear diff
5. AMS Mustasche eliminator
6. AMS solid alum rear diff mounts

Suspension

1. Reinharte XR3 triple Adjustable Coilovers setup by TF Dave with custom valving
2. Full Wisefab suspension kits with drop spindles to correct geometry
3. Perrin adjustable rear anti-sway bar with Perrin end links (stock front

1. Cusco Type CB Front and Rear Strut Bars
2. Evo RS rear trunk brace (stock for RS)
3. Custom ASM (Andy Smedegard @dizmm) alignment

Wheels/Tires/Fender

1. 18×11 Volk TE37V Mark II (-7 offset) forged
2. 315/30/18 Falken 615k+ (200TW)
3. Voltex widebody fenders and flares
4. Rear Trailing links trimmed for additional wheel clearance
5. ARP extended lug studs front
6. 15mm spacer front (no spacer rear)

Brakes

1. Giro Disk 2 piece rotors
2. Stock Calipers (powder coat Cusco blue)
3. SS brake lines
4. DTC 60 pads
5. Custom brake ducting kit 2″
6. Castrol SRF fluid

Interior

1. AutoPower bolt in cage (powder coat Cusco blue)
2. Sparco Evo seats
3. Schroth Profi II 6 point Harness
4. Sparco L777 steering wheel
5. NRG quick release adapter
6. Defi Link Avanced Control Unit
7. Defi Water Temp Gauge with warning indicator
8. 5lb easy access Fire bottle.
9. Custom WORKS floor mats and trunk mat.
10. Pioneer 7” DVD/receiver
11. Polk Audio speakers

Exterior/Aero

1. Custom wicked white paint with Lexus blue pearl.
2. Voltex widebody fenders and over flares
3. Voltex hood
4. Voltex design bumper and sideskirts
5. APR front Evo X front splitter
6. Ciro Race Design 75” rear wing – APR single element.
7. Varis Carbon fiber trunk
8. Custom aluminum mounting plates for rear wing
9. APR carbon race mirrors
10. JDM rear bumper conversion
11. Joes racing aluminum splitter/wing supports
12. Sign Pro vinyl graphics

Tuning

1. RS Motors (Ronnie Soliman) AWD Mustang Dyno on stock ECU, E85, speed density
2. 620awhp, 560awt
3. Full boost (31psi) at 4100rpm