This Mitsubishi Truck Is A Fire-Breathing Evo In Disguise. We Talked To Its Owner

Builder Jake Plender turned his daily-driven Mitsubishi Mighty Max into a nearly 500-horsepower hot rod.

The engine is a modified version of the 4G63T found in many Mitsubishi models.

Plender's goal is a quarter-mile run in the ten-second range, which would be a 100 percent improvement over the truck's original time.

Mitsubishi needs a redemption arc here in the US. The once performance-minded automaker now basically builds five variations of the same crossover. There was a time, however, when Mitsubishi made exciting machines.

Jake Plender remembers those days. In fact, he has a daily reminder of the good ol' times that were possible at Diamond Star Motors. You see, Plender took an old Mighty Max pickup truck and has turned it into a fire-breathing example of past Mitsubishi glory, making nearly 500 horsepower.