Although the Impreza STI was duly recognized as the Evo’s main competition, they said they wanted to distance themselves from their arch nemesis, hopefully appealing to current owners of the Audi S4 and BMW M3 E46.

Huh?

Impreza and Lancer have been mortal enemies since 1992. For 16 years, both have been nipping at the other’s heels the world over through international rally competition. There have been battles between auto manufacturers ever since Daimler began puttering around Germany, but rarely has such a lengthy rivalry existed uninterrupted between two models.

The Evo’s spec sheet, when taken in this context, is more like a battle plan to combat Imprezas from sea to shining sea: 293 horsepower at 6,500 rpm; 300 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm; five-speed manual transmission or upcoming instant-shift six-speed twin-clutch TC-SST ‘box. Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) regulates drive torque at each wheel by controlling a network of systems: the Active Center Differential (ACD) all-wheel drive, AYC rear differential, Active Stability Control (ASC), and ABS brakes are under S-AWC’s control. Aluminum lower front control arms, aluminum front fenders, hood, roof, and front and rear bumper supports to keep weight down. Brembo brakes. Yokohama Advan super-sticky tires. Enkei aluminum wheels. Recaro seats.

And while the GSR model I drove has some impressive armaments, the upcoming MR (with the TC-SST gearbox, two-piece front brake rotors, Bilstein / Eibach suspension, and 18-inch BBS wheels) furthers the game a little closer to the STI, while adding more convenience features (and sound deadening!) to attract those pesky German car lovers.

But here’s why Mitsubishi has, at least at the moment, no hope of attracting those buyers: the only Evolution X on-sale in early ‘08 is the five-speed GSR, which revs well above 3,500 rpm at 120 km/h.

The engine noise is so noticeable, in fact, that your hand instinctively reaches for a sixth cog. I think Mitsubishi, at least with the GSR, mistook sophistication for refinement. The car’s technology, safety features, and all-wheel-drive brain are certainly sophisticated kit. But, unlike the German cars they’re so hoping to compete with, the GSR just ain’t refined ‘nuff.

Blame it on the decades-old trench battle with the STI, I suppose.

Throw the car on a twisty mountain road or racetrack, however, and the Evo is magical. A colleague of mine and I were discussing how the company says the Evo seamlessly melds with the driver’s brain — but it’s the other way around, Matrix style: the driver melds with the car’s computer brain.

So advanced and so beyond my computational abilities sits the S-AWC system, which poises the car just so in order to attack the next apex. You get the impression after a few clicks that the car’s got the corner worked out. It knows how many g’s you’re doing, where the steering wheel is, and how it can best combat understeer on account of the off-camber surface.

It’s saying: “Push the accelerator a little more to the floor, mate. I’ve got your back.”

I’m under no illusions that I was doing any work on those canyon roads, or at the Streets of Willow Springs racetrack. I sat behind the wheel, like a good little boy, duly pushing the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals while steering where I wanted to go.

But by golly, it was fun. You could focus on improving your shifts, or analyzing the road surface, or glancing over at the desert scenery. If you’re an 8/10ths driver like I am, it’s like a load is lifted from your mind by not having to worry about traction in any situation.

The Evolution is exactly that — the evolution of a car that has been improved by every piece of modern technology fitted to it. It doesn’t need high horsepower, bullet-like aerodynamics, or fat tires because its computer brain maximizes what’s been fitted to the humble economy-car underpinnings.

As competitors go, is it as fast as an S4 or E46 M3? Of course. An STI? Nearly identical.

But for $42,000, even a university education can’t buy you a brain as good as the Evo’s.

Quick Shift