THE last Lancer Evo rally rocket Mitsubishi officially imported Down Under, Evo VI, took two years to eventuate and arrived at a price of nearly $80,000. This time round, the new and much more civilised Euro-spec Evo VIII is on sale here just months after its 2003 Tokyo show debut, at a far more sensibly priced $61,990 – some $18,000 less. That may still be $5000 more than the Lancer Evo’s direct rival in the Subaru Impreza WRX STi - and Evo continues to be limited-edition prospect here - but with the same turbocharged 195kW output (and even more torque at 355Nm), Evo VIII is sure to give STi the competition it deserves.