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Have you ever seen a Mitsubishi Airtek at the dragstrip? Chances are, you probably haven’t unless you live in Japan…or have been at Santa Pod Raceway when Chris Bates has made a pass. Now, Bates’ 2003 Airtek is far from stock, making over 1,200 horsepower to the rear tires thanks to a boosted small-block Chevy combination.
Bates is an experienced racer that has spent time racing in the Super Gas class at Santa Pod Raceway behind the wheel of a Sierra Cosworth. The Airtek has been in Bates’ fleet for over a decade and has been going through a slow transformation to reach its latest form. Bates has worked with Jon Webster at Webster Race Engineering to prepare the Airtek for Street Eliminator competition, a class that requires the Airtek to be 100 percent street legal.
The tube bending and chassis work done by Webster Race Engineering to get the Airtek rolling is genuinely amazing, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. WBR built a radical small-block Chevy mill for Bates that makes a whole lot of rip thanks to a rather large ProCharger head unit. A MoTeC engine management system controls the EFI mouse motor. Behind the SBC is a Powerglide transmission that sends power to the Fab-9 rearend that’s attached to the chassis via a custom 4-link suspension.
Shift Light TV recorded some great footage of Bates shaking his Airtek down at Santa Pod. Bates wasn’t able to make a full pull under power during the session, but it’s clear that his Mitsubishi is going to lay down some big numbers once he gets it sorted out.
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