I'm thinking about getting the '08 lancer GTS but I know it doesnt have alot of power.  I know little about cars but i really want to make this a project car and make it faster.  Any tips would really help a girl out.    

heres my opinion.

if youre looking for performance, i would hold out on buying so you can save for the EVO.  in all honesty, buying a base lancer to save money, then spending a bunch trying to make it faster doesnt make much sense. especially since it will never be as fast as the stock evo, no matter how much you spend.  and even if you do make the same power by the numbers only, it will be through the front wheels, and the handling / braking will still not be up to par.

another issues to consider when modding a base lancer - the warrantee is void when the first mod goes in.

good luck with which ever route you choose.  If you do end up going with the base lancer, there is an on-going thread on here you can check out- http://forums.sportcompactcarweb.com/70/6298076/tech/2008-lancer-gts-mods/index.html  

Just curious........Why make a new car a "project car"? Most of my "projects" stay in various states of "does not run" or "is not legal". I'd make sure i had a good daily driver and then buy a used car for a "project", as there are a boat load of older cars that will absolutely fly for fractions of the price of a new anything. Just a thought. Don't know if your idea of project includes CAI and a muffler done by a local shop, or if you're like some of us and project car means the engine is in pieces and you're eating ramen noodles to pay for fancy forged pieces to go in it.  

I agree. A used car is a far better buy than any new car. Plus, for the price of a GTS, you could go out and buy a used VIII, or any number of great cars for that matter. That's why I will never buy a brand new car.

My choice for GTS money ($20,000?) would be either an 03 Evo, or if you want some upgrade money left, a WRX, RX-8 or SRT-4.  

I agree as well.  A new car is so much higher because of that warrenty your going to void when you slap that first mod on because you didn't pay a "factory authorized" technition to put it on.  I can see why when they charge about 50 bucks an hour.  

I got my used Evo 8 MR with 15k miles for $21K.   Now thats a pretty decent deal I suppose but the dealer I was buying from wanted 44k for a new EVO 9 MR.  Go figure what they were thinking.  Anyway, you'll save alot of money and be able to do more with a used car and you probibily wont have to worry about a warrenty if its old enough.  (I've been told I can't do anything to my car until 2010 when the 5 yr warrenty is up)  

Please excuse the following rant. I come from a bit of a different background, so don't take it personally. I really mean no offense, just trying to offer a bit of insight from the "build it, don't buy it" camp.

The h*ll with this warranty mess. You want to go fast, go fast. For the most part, turning wrenches isn't that big of a deal. Learn to fix things. It's what car people do. My current project is a completely off topic for this forum big block '62 ford. Warranty? Didn't have one when it was new 45 years ago. "Repair" and "rebuild" are words I'm becoming quite familiar with. "Fabrication" is even higher on the list. Bolt-ons for most modern cars for the most part work properly. When it comes to old stuff, "bolt-ons" usually don't, hence the fabrication.

You've got an approximate $20K budget, and you want a fast car. Put 10-12K in a reliable daily driver, 4K in a beater with potential, and spend about $300 on tools and a haynes manual for whatever you buy. That leaves you quite a bit of money to buy parts for your newfound toy. Don't tell me a decent car with potential doesn't exist at this price level. Do your homework and find something you like, and start learning. That way, when it acts up from all the stuff you've put on it, you don't look like a complete mook scratching your head while it's being towed home. You'll have a general idea of how to fix it, which places you on a higher level than most of the "car people" in the world.

You seem like a reasonably competent individual. I've only read a few sentences from you, but you put them together correctly without a lot of immature nonsense. That amount of sense, and a little bit of desire to learn, are about all it takes to figure out most of your basic automotive snafu's. Give it a shot and learn something. If you get stuck, the internet is your friend. There's plenty of info on here for almost any situation. It's fun! I promise!

Rant over.  

Yeah, your project car shouldn't be your daily driver. Spend $5000 on a nice Camry, and use the rest on a cheap project car (If you like the Lancer, I would reccomend either an 02 Lancer OZ Rally or a 99 Civic Si), tools, manuals, etc.  

Don't listen to these gear heads, they are in a different league.  Do you like the GTS?  Can you afford an Evo?  Just get a GTS, I have one, and it sounds like to me you don't want a race car, just a nice street car.  There is a strong rumor that Mitsubishi will offer a dealer installed turbo kit about the same time the new Ralliart comes out, which by the way will be all wheel drive and turbo like a base WRX.  

I think that you need to give it time.Look through the papers and see if you can find a used car.  

Give it time and look at your town papers and if you find a good car then with the leftovers you can then modify.  

If I could do it all over (I already own one), I would go buy the most stripped out '04-'05 SRT-4 I could find, used, with the factory features you want. There are still enough not totalled to find one. You should not spend more than 13-14K on one (That would be a pristine one with low mileage). After you get it, there are tons and tons of things you can do, and few 4-cylinder engines offer the robustness for mods and abuse which Dodge built into the SRT-4s from the factory.  

Just get the Lancer and slowly fix it up the way you like it.