We here at JPCN have been keeping a close eye on the E-Vade twin-turbo mid-engined roadster, and designer/builder/owner David Walter recently invited us up to Winton Raceway in central Victoria to check out the circuit debut of the track-only E-Vade.

I was especially keen to check out what this bad boy could do, so my faithful assistant and I hopped in Project Z and headed up to Winton. Dark clouds hung ominously over Melbourne as we departed , but as we got closer to the circuit it was clear that there was plenty of rain already dropping over the Victorian countryside. Great for farmers, terrible for racers. Suffice to say, it wasn’t long before the rain started dropping on Winton, and once it started it never really stopped…

But that didn’t stop the enthusiasts who’d come to take advantage of Sunday’s open track day, among them David Walter with his Nissan-powered E-Vade. Unfortunately, he only managed to turn in a handful of laps before a bracket gave way, disabling the alternator and the power steering and putting the E-Vade out of action. It was probably a blessing in disguise though, as Walter said the E-Vade was a bit of a handful in the wet conditions with aquaplaning, understeer and good ol’ power oversteer combining to make for quite a white-knuckle ride.

Aside from the broken bracket, the rest of the mechanicals worked flawlessly. After some attention from a welder the E-Vade will live to drive another day, and you can rest assured that when that day comes, JPCN will be there to bring you more on this home-built sportscar.

The E-Vade wasn’t the only car at Winton that caught the eye of JPCN though. There was a healthy amount of Japanese rides taking to the track, with a large contingent of late-model Lancer Evos showing off their AWD prowess on the sodden circuit. After the E-Vade called it a day, we wandered the pits and checked out some of the other cars present. Click the images to expand.

Evos appear to travel in packs…

..and were quite literally everywhere

This RX-3 was representin’ the old-school JDM crowd…

…As was this AE86

This 350Z Track sounded beautiful at WOT

There were a few Integras present on the day too, with this DC5 flying the front-driver flag

Our favourite would have to be this K11 Micra. Aside from the cheeky stickers on the back, this pint-sized hatchback looks like it’d be an absolute hoot to drive

The Micra in action

Black R32s, while cool to look at, are a bitch to shoot. It doesn’t matter though, as this GT-R was one of the fastest cars on the day

Evo VIII with monstrous Alcon brake kit. It was pretty rapid on the track, too.

Evo III getting some TLC

[Images copyright JPCN]