These days the word ‘hybrid’ has come to mean something quite sensible and boring. So when I heard about a French 106 hybrid, I wasn’t especially interested. That is until I saw it. Sometimes, a car comes along that makes you stop in your tracks – and this savage little Pug is one of them. Built by French tuner, Philippe Duperray, this baby 1-litre Pug 106 now has the heart of a Mitsubishi Evo 4. In fact, it has more than that, it has the full 4WD running gear, and the small matter of 565bhp too. Unsurprisingly, that means this sub-1100kg 106 is an absolute weapon! Philippe says, “I loved the 4WD performance, of the Evo but hated the looks. It was also too heavy.” So he decided to create a 106/Evo hybrid track car. “Tuning an Evo is too expensive, so I asked my friend in Ireland to find me a car, a 1997 Evo 4.”
The car began as a 994cc 106 Cartoon edition that cost £450. The Evo 4 was picked up for £1500 and then the real work began. The Evo’s body was cut off, leaving the chassis and running gear. This was then cut again and the front end grafted onto the 106’s shell. A serious amount of fabrication was required to get the angles right and ensure the new Pug/Evo hybrid had adequate strength to cope with the proposed power. “The most difficult part was to find enough space in the engine bay because the 106’s bay is 30cm shorter than the Evo’s!” says Philippe. I had the same problem on the rear.” This was always going to be a 4WD car, so it made sense to utilize the Evo’s running gear. The extensive roll cage is fully integrated to the shell, which provides immense strength and serious protection – handy with a 565bhp motor.
The engine is the heart of this beast and no matter what you think of Jap powerplants, there’s no denying that the 4G63 Evo unit is a tuner’s dream. The 2-litre unit can be tweaked for massive power with many cars hitting over 1000bhp. But Philippe wanted it to be reliable, so has used a tried and tested formula to extract more grunt from the engine. A 2.3 stroker kit enlarges the capacity and forged internals, together with ARP studs and motorsport bearings ensure the bottom end is strong enough to take some big boost. That comes courtesy of a Garrett GTX3076, which provides ample boost, but also spools up fast for a responsive engine. Large 1400cc injectors and Bosch 044 pump get the super unleaded in fast, while a Motec M84 ECU keeps everything running nicely. As with the rest of the car, Philippe and the crew did all the work themselves. So they built the engine, created the custom exhaust manifold – the lot.
Sub-1100kg and over 565bhp means this thing has savage performance. The power to weight figure is around 513bhp per ton, which is better than a Ferrari 458, or Lambo Aventador and right up there with a Caterham Superlight – and all this in a humble 106 body! But where many other big engine’d 106s and the like have made do with front-heel drive, Philippe has gone for 4WD. That means this little Pug will hook up and launch up the road quicker than pretty much anything this side of a full-on drag car. The pumped up bodywork is a mixture of custom carbon fibre and lightweight fiberglass. The doors and tailgate are all hand made out of the super-light black weave and the overall effect is stunning. Unsurprisingly, even though the Evo lump isn’t especially large, with all of the turbo pipework and cooling required, the radiator had to be relocated to the rear.
When it came to the outside, a base Cartoon spec 1-litre was never going to cut it. Philippe is a big fan of the wide arch Maxi style and set about grafting on a full Maxi MC Racing bodykit. With the Evo’s wider track, the wide arches would also be needed to cover the beefy 8x18in wheels. With a fiberglass kit fitted, things were shaping up nicely, but the team wasn’t done yet. To add some more motorsport flavour and keep the weight down, the doors, tailgate, roof and bonnet were done in carbon fibre. The headlights were also replaced with carbon units featuring ducts to cool the engine – as a dedicated track car, day-today ‘essentials’ like lights aren’t required. The rear end features cut outs for the rear-mounted radiator and the polycarbonate rear window has holes to allow the struts of the rear wing to attach to the roll cage. Finished in a menacing shade of black, with lairy white wheels, this wide arch Pug looks like it means business. To get the power down, an Evo 7 transfer box has been used. It offers serious strength, and coupled to the Fidanza flywheel and meaty Exedy triple-plate clutch, means that this little Pug can be launched hard, without spitting its transmission all over the road.
Although the car weighs in at less than 1100kg, with ten times that power it left the factory with, it still needed some hardcore stoppers to bring it to a halt. And with track work the main reason for the build, strong, fade free brakes were a must. The Brembo kit comprises 6-pot fronts and large 355mm discs, while the rear is treated to a set of 4-pot Brembos off a Megane RS. The front brakes, together with the BC Racing coilovers were a simple addition as they’re Evo fitment and went straight onto the Evo 4 front suspension assembly. Whiteline anti-roll bars add some further stiffness to the 106’s extreme track set up.
Inside, you won’t find any luxuries. There’s a pair of supportive Sparco seats and harnesses, plus an AIM Strada dash, hydraulic handbrake and of course that extensive custom cage. In fact the cage has been used as a mounting point for the humongous rear wing. This may look a bit Frankenstein and some may question the styling, but it provides immense downforce on track, which is where this car is intended to be used. Philippe has taken the bits he liked from the Evo and mated them with the small car he loved, to create the ultimate 565bhp, 4WD hybrid. But he’s not finished. “My plan is to go on lightening the car by changing triangular suspension arms for lighter ones, then add a dry sump and a sequential gearbox.”
Philippe and the crew have said they’ll be at the French Car Show this year and we’d like nothing better than to see this monster used in anger on track. At the time of writing, FCS is just under a month away, so we’ve got our fingers crossed that the guys can make it – best you do the same!
ENGINE: 4G63 from Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, 2.3 stroker kit, Manley rods, Wiseco HD 1400 85.5mm pistons, HKS headgasket, Kelford 280 camshafts, custom tubular exhaust manifold, Garrett GTX 3076 turbo, TIAL external wastegate, TIAL 44mm BOV, 1400cc injectors, Bosch 044 pump, Motec M84 ACL ECU, motorsport bearings, large front mount intercooler, silicone hoses, induction kit, ARP stud kit, GSC Power-Division springs, new OEM lifters, balance shaft eliminator kit, brand new OEM complete engine gasket set, 3in turbo back exhaust, rear mounted radiator, oil cooler
TRANSMISSION: Transfer box and axles from Evo 7RS, Fidanza flywheel, Exedy triple plate clutch
BRAKES: 6-pot Brembo with 355mm discs (f) 300mm, 4-pot Brembo from Megane RS (r)
WHEELS & TYRES: 8x18in WedSport SA70 wheels with Federal RS-R 235/40x18in
SUSPENSION: BC Racing ER Series coilovers with fully adjustable top mounts, Whiteline ARBs
INTERIOR: Sparco Rev Plus seats, AIM MXL STRADA dash, RRS harnesses, custom roll cage, fuel cut off, boost gauge, hydraulic handbrake
EXTERIOR: Full 106 Maxi MC Racing bodykit, carbon fibre doors, roof, bonnet, and tailgate Aerocatches on bonnet and tailgate, cut outs for intercooler and rearmounted radiator, headlight ducts, polycarbonate rear and side windows with air ducts and fuel filler mounted on driver’s side, large rear wing mounted on roll cage
Thanks Performance French Cars for this amazing article!
