1. **State the problem:** Expand the expression $ (a - 4)(a^2 + 2a - 3) $. 2. **Recall the distributive property:** To expand, multiply each term in the first parenthesis by each term in the second. 3. **Apply the distributive property:** $$ (a - 4)(a^2 + 2a - 3) = a \cdot (a^2 + 2a - 3) - 4 \cdot (a^2 + 2a - 3) $$ 4. **Multiply each term:** $$ = a^3 + 2a^2 - 3a - 4a^2 - 8a + 12 $$ 5. **Combine like terms:** $$ = a^3 + (2a^2 - 4a^2) + (-3a - 8a) + 12 $$ $$ = a^3 - 2a^2 - 11a + 12 $$ 6. **Final answer:** $$ \boxed{a^3 - 2a^2 - 11a + 12} $$ This matches option C.