1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Rudy Salemeda didn't always drive an import. In fact, Rudy used to be a fan of Mustangs and actually owned a Saleen version of the domestic ponycar that ran tens in the quarter mile. That is until a light-fingered bastard stole the Mustang, leaving Salemeda with a space to fill in his garage and a yearning to try something new.

In 1999, Mitsubishi announced the Eclipse GSX was in its last year of production, so Salemeda jumped in feet-first and laid down the cash for the car you see on these pages. Within hours of picking up the brand-spanking-new Eclipse, Salemeda decided he needed a little more noise and he bolted on a Tanabe exhaust system. That was the start of the transformation that has occurred over the past few years. Although we hate car thieves and think they should all be tortured in the most horrible way, we are kinda' glad the Mustang went away and left Salemeda to build this GSX.

Obviously, Rudy is a man who likes his cars to perform. His GSX is a perfect case in point. Pop the carbon-fiber hood and take a look at the engine. Clean is the word. Everything is nicely finished with the required polished aluminum and stainless steel and every detail is taken into consideration, as it should be on a show winning car. Under the skin, however, lurks a fire-breathing beast that is perfectly capable of propelling the GSX to low twelves on the strip.

Starting out with a polished-and-'O'-ringed block, Salemeda installed a state-of-the-art rotating assembly that consists of a Buscher polished crank, Crower forged rods and Wiseco 8:1 forged pistons.

A first-generation DSM head was ported and polished by Alderman Nissan and Crower double valve springs were installed along with crower valves and retainers.

Activating the valves is an HKS camshaft that specs out at 264 degrees on the intake side and 272 on the exhaust. The stock first-gen intake manifold was ported and polished and a custom exhaust manifold was manufactured to allow for the installation of a massive Turbonetics T70 turbocharger. The custom exhaust vents the spent gases through an A'PEXi muffler and a custom-fabricated 5.5-in exhaust tip.

Just in case Salemeda needs a little extra push, he took the precaution of adding a 100-hp shot of "laughing gas" to really raise his game.

With a built motor and a long list of performance modifications, the stock ECU was not able to properly control the fuel delivery and ignition curves. Salemeda did some research and decided to install an AEM plug-and-play EMS. The unit was tuned in-house and does an admirable job of keeping the GSX on song.