Going Record Hunting: Project Haggis

There is nothing we love more than a challenge and when we get the chance to take a crack at a world record then that’s when we are really in our element! Thanks to our favourite Scotsman we have a new target in our sights – The EVO stock block record currently held by one of AWD Motorsports customers Stateside with a 9.74 @ 140 mph.

Chris is a hard case EVO fanatic and despite the fact we can’t understand half of what he says, he keeps coming back all the way from Nelson for more upgrades. After running an 11.9 last year at the South Island Champs Chris was hooked so it was time to get serious with his EVO 9 affectionately nicknamed ‘Project Haggis’.

Bettering AWD Motorsport’s time isn’t going to be easy and the disadvantage we have is that Chris’s car is going to be pretty close to full weight which means we need to work that much harder to achieve his goals. On the plus side, we can draw from our experience which got Dave Stock the outright EVO record with DS9.

Getting low ETs on the strip relies pretty heavily on power and the problem with this project is that we are limited by the strength of the stock engine. There is no way we are going to be able to push 1000 whp through the stock bottom end and this changes the way we look at everything.

As far as power goes we will be aiming for 600-650 whp (440-480 kW atw). To reduce stress on the engine, maximum rpm will be kept quite low with a redline of 8000. Revving an engine hard puts a huge amount of load on the conrods and we will already be walking a tight rope so we aren’t keen to push our luck too far!

600-650 whp is going to make for a tough EVO 9, but not necessarily a world record holder. The rest of the package is what we are hoping will make the difference and give Chris a fighting chance at the title. We will be using a PPG 4 speed dog box coupled with our very own STM Ghost Shifter for seamless and lightening fast clutchless shifting. This will make sure that the engine is always on full boost down the strip with zero lag.

Ensuring that none of the power gets wasted will be the existing HKS twin plate clutch and a set of 15” wheels with Mickey Thompsen 24.5x8x15” slicks. Suspension will consist of the same BC racing ER series coil overs we used in DS9. This combination set consistent 1.2 60’ times and this is the key to getting to the end of the strip fast.

We have a long way to go and a lot of work to put in before the start of the season, but we can already smell the VHT in the air and can’t wait for Project Haggis to hit the strip.

Here are a couple more photos as the EVO was delivered.