I’m one-quarter German, so let’s assume for the sake of argument that I’m the ultimate Super Street authority when it comes to Das Vaterland. Numero uno, when it comes to a discussion of Germanic pop-culture, is an intense and all-consuming love of David Hasselhoff. Known to most viewers as the head lifeguard on Baywatch, Hasselhoff was also on a show called Knight Rider back in the mid-’80s where he wore tight pants, black leather jackets, had a big curly mop o’ hair (kinda like how I look these days), and drove a pimped out Trans Am with this funky cyclops red eye on the front that made a really cool “whoosh-whoosh” sound—the same noise Jimmy makes when he’s beat-boxing.
Apart from David Hasselhoff, what else do Germans love? Well, they’ve got a new race series with a style all its own. You know how Jonny’s all over the JDM thing? Well, here’s another tri-letter acronym for ya: DTM. Yeah, that’s right: Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. To say it properly, you must first grow a bushy mustache, consume a few pints of lager, and proceed to have a sneezing fit, not necessarily in that order. Translated literally, it means German Touring Car Championship.
So what’s DTM all about? And why did Hironao Yokomaku, the creator and grand poo-bah of VeilSide style, mac on the DTM look for his superfast Lancer DTM Evolution that you see on these pages? Well, legend has it that Yokomaku-san’s Japanese heart beats with a fondness for German machinery. As to what the DTM is all about, here’s a little history for you.
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft racing series was huge in Germany in the early 1990s. Like as big as NASCAR is to a Georgia redneck (being a Georgia native, I can vouch for that claim). But, because there were few regulations on how vehicles were equipped in those days, costs quickly soared to astronomical levels. That changed in 2000 when the DTM returned with more technology restrictions to make participation less costly and more regulations to make it safer.
The DTM look? Lean, low, and very trick. Picture radically lowered Mercedes-Benz CLK coupes and Audi TTs circling the track at super-fast speeds. But how do you drop enough weight off one of Daimler-Benz’s tanks to make it DTM race-worthy? Carbon fiber. And lots of it. Fender flares, spoilers, hoods, scoops, and thin wire mesh in place of grilles. Completing the mods are trick anti-lift aerodynamics with side and underbody air channeling that keep the relatively few kilograms pressing firm to the pavement even at breakneck speeds. All of this bodywork and aerodynamics lend the stallions of the DTM one hell of a mean stance.
Enter Yokomaku and his VeilSide Lancer DTM Evolution. It’s clear Yokomaku-san has poured himself into this crossbred Japanese/German creation with all of his usual intensity and attention to detail. The body of this car is the realization of a concept from the mind of a man who’s been known to study a woman’s curves and travel from Japan to Southern California just for design inspiration. That’s a clever way of calling yourself a pervert, much the way janitors call themselves “sanitation engineers.” Yokomaku must’ve spent some time at Gold’s Gym Venice as this Lancer DTM Evolution body speaks with a gruff, ground-hugging, wide-as-Arnold’s-lats kind of voice. The body captures both the intensity and elegance of the DTM look, and it all sits on fat VeilSide Andrew Racing five-spokes wrapped in meaty Bridgestones.
But Yokomaku’s magic doesn’t stop at the surface. While studying in his younger years to be a French Master Chef, Yokomaku learned that the candy must taste as sweet as the wrapper looks. And from first bite to last drop, this Evo’s anything but bland. A 2,021cc Mitsubishi 4G63 mill mated to an HKS-3037 ball bearing turbo screams out a heady 426.6kW (roughly 572 horses). HKS provides the turbine, wastegate, forged pistons, and other high-strength turbo-specific engine internals and engine management electronics. A Trust intercooler keeps intake air cold and tightly packed, SARD 1,000cc injectors feed hungry cylinders plenty of fuel, and VeilSide itself supplies the valve guide and special Tabata aluminum radiator. Spent exhaust gases pass through VeilSide’s all-stainless exhaust manifold and exit the company’s tear-drop muffler.
Germans have been characterized as efficiency experts to the extreme, and the interior of this Evo mirrors that trend. Willans racing harnesses strap driver and passenger securely in Recaro front seats that grab them as aggressively as this Evo hugs the tarmac. A VeilSide aluminum shift knob, speedo, and tach provide the necessary visual and tactile information for fast driving without diverting driver attention from the road.
An A’PEXi damper suspension kit tuned to VeilSide’s specs feeds every road surface detail through a contoured VeilSide C1 steering wheel. Fujii Dynamics titanium brakes with Endless pads suck brake fluid through Earl’s lines to provide confident, immediate stopping power.
Stop. Wipe that root beer foam off your lip and take a close look at Yokomaku-san’s Germanic creation. You’re viewing award-winning style that’s seamless, well integrated, and considered by many to be the most artistic and sexy in the realm of vehicular transformation. Ever seen a stock Mitsubishi Mirage collecting bird crap at the local 7-Eleven? Well, that’s roughly the clay that Yokomaku began molding to arrive at this masterpiece. We think his VeilSide Lancer DTM Evolution is pretty bad-ass. Nearly as bad-ass, in fact, as David Hasselhoff and his Trans Am with the red cyclops eye and burly chest hairs. Gesundheit.