Static pains of stance - Mitsubishi Lancer EX
Photos: Farhan Ahmed
The world of stanced cars is a phenomenon hardly understood by those without continued exposure to the car cultures of the West, some go to the lengths of ridiculing the stance culture without really understanding the point behind it – to create a look that is factory fresh, yet unlike anything you're likely to come across on the showroom floor. For every custom car culture out there you're likely to find something on sale to the regular Joe that in some ways replicate the trends seen on the street – even the Koreans are trying to mimic street culture by offering page after page of factory options that you can specify to make your car stand out from others. However, no manufacturer will go to the lengths that stance enthusiasts go to, because the compromise involved translates to a certain degree of undrivability that established brands can't live with, let alone the average customer.
On a scale of what is truly unique then, stance culture is a path that will never be replicated by manufacturers and thus, it's one of the only ways to tell the world that this car is a custom creation.
Anas Mamoon's Lancer EX is not the epitome of stance worldwide – there are far crazier cars out there that are lower, wider, and with more negative camber than is safe on public roads. However, outside of the realm of silky smooth roads around Los Angeles or the buttery tarmac covering the length and breadth of Japan, his Lancer is perhaps the closest adherence to the stance bible as the potholed, lunar surfaced roads of Bangladesh will allow.
"Living with a stanced car is very tough especially because of potholes, you'd have to know how many potholes there are on any given road. I need to be very picky with the routes wherever I go." Anas doesn't seem to mind though, since his Lancer seems one of a kind amid a sea of Evo X converted monstrosities plying the roads of Dhaka.
"I'd say my worst nightmare are speed-breakers. Whoever owns a stanced car, like Tanzil Minhaj, has the same problem. He drives the same car as I do, it's his nightmare as well."
Unsurprisingly, Tanzil, Anas' partner-in-stance, has recently reverted his lowered and stanced Lancer to stock, unable to handle the challenge of owning a slammed car in Dhaka's hostile road surfaces. Tanzil's car was an exact twin of Anas' – at one point both had red paint, aggressively stanced cars and similar specs. Only differences were the front bumpers, wheels, and a slightly more aggressive rake on Anas' car. Since then, Anas has changed the bumpers, opting for the Lancer GT spec, while the stance was slightly dialed back to make the car a bit more driveable. The exterior got a fresh coat of paint, and as far as colours go, it's pretty unique in Nardo Grey.
Whether stance cars make sense for Bangladesh or not, if you have the willpower to withstand the constant pains of planning your routes and going slower than almost anything else on the roads, it's a statement of the style you prefer. This Lancer is Anas' first car, and we're sure it'll go through many more phases in the coming years since he has no plans of letting it go. Hate it or love it, it's his car, and he definitely loves it.