Turbulence. That's a loaded word if ever there were one. The negative connotations are inferred and drilled into our head over time. When you think turbulence, you think of couples fighting, you think of bouncing on a jet plane at 35,000 feet and puking into a waxy sandwich bag. Turbulence means a state of agitation, of stimulation. Turbulence creates activity. Turbulence keeps things interesting. Why do people listen to punk over Phil Collins? Why do people put Tabasco on their eggs? It makes you stimulated, not soothed. It makes things, well, turbulent.
Mitsubishi's latest Eclipse has created some turbulence within the performance community and among Diamond-Star diehards. Mitsubishi's decision to eschew all-wheel drive and legendary turbo 2.0L power signaled to many (mainly enthusiasts) the demise of a true performance machine; others (mostly the motoring press) took it as a sign of Mitsubishi growing up, shedding the image of greasy kid stuff, and hunting for a wider market. When one model replaces two (the new Eclipse also took the place of the old 3000GT; some details resemble the 3000's sister Dodge Stealth in the right light), it's often put in an awkward spot: neither here nor there, neither fish nor fowl, neither fore nor aft, neither hither nor yon, neither yin nor yang. Oh, the new car caused attention-much of it negative. The outpouring of disappointment was palpable. Turbulent, even. But that is a discussion for another time.
Visually, too, there is much for the eye to gaze upon with the stock Eclipse. The flared fenders arch into the smooth bodywork, creating a dynamic tension. On our photo example, big Axis wheels and Yokohama rubber fulfill the promise of those flared fenders. The taut skin is interrupted by the corrugated lower door panels, a theme that starts at the front fascia and carries through onto the door skins. Distinctive and aggressive, to be sure. But aggression brings its own emotional turbulence to the party.
Robert Wilson has furthered our definition of turbulence and created his own bit of turbulence with his double-aught Eclipse, flying in the face of those who insist the new Mitsus aren't tweakable, aren't fast, aren't good. You've got an extra 100 hp or so on tap thanks to the big bottle of laughing gas tucked back where the rear seat used to be. That'll create air turbulence, having to push all that air through so much faster, and will probably create turbulence with errant street racers looking to one-up the new Mitsu. Of course, there will be more turbulence still if the fuzz comes pokin' around, so perhaps it's just best not to mess. That's turbulence that no one needs.
Robert owns Modern Image Signworks in Hermosa Beach, California, and his shop built this Eclipse as a rolling billboard for the company. The graphics were designed and applied by the Modern Image crew, and it neatly captures the new Eclipse's inherent turbulence as discussed above. The swirls and whorls of blue and white on the silver skin feel cool and soothing to the eye, and are even complimentary to the factory steely hue. But the shapes are curled, free-form, directionless, attractive, and bold (and even symmetrical, side to side) and, well...you know.
The Wings West body kit is designed to cut down on air turbulence, ironically, and makes the already-lowered Mitsu look still lower to the ground. Stomp the stop pedal with those 14-inch cross-drilled AEW/Brembos and your heart rate will spike. Anyone over the age of, say, 30, will scream "noise pollution" at the insane Clarion head unit and triple Boston Acoustics woofer bass-thump. Just as well. Anyone old enough to be troubled by it won't get the rest of the package anyway. The right people will dig it, the rest will be bothered. Pay them no mind.