The Lancer Sportback Ralliart and it’s regular, un-Ralliarted brother are still a week away from their official debut at the Paris Motor Show, however that hasn’t stopped Mitsubishi from unleashing a slew of images of the attractive and sprightly 5-door ahead of the launch.

And thank god they did.

Honestly, prior to today I was adamant that if it came down to a battle between the Evolution X and the WRX STI to determine who would occupy a space in my fantasy garage, I would have declared the Subie the winner, hands down. However, since learning the Lancer Ralliart is to come in Sportback flavour, I’m not so sure that’s still the case. Now, after seeing these images, I can positively say that I’d prefer the Sportback Ralliart over the other two. Hell yeah.

Think about it: while it’s cheaper than the Evo X, the Sportback still comes with the same (albeit detuned to 179kW) 4B11 turbo four and awesome TC-SST twin-clutch gearbox of it’s more hardcore cousin, plus the same AWC all-wheel-drive system used by the Evo IX.

Not only that, but the Sportback is arguably far better looking than the somewhat un-loved and conservatively-styled STI.

So, pocket the change that you’d save by buying the cheaper Sportback, invest that cashola in a few choice mods and you’ll soon find yourself the proud owner of a fast, furious and fantastically beautiful sport hatch that still boasts around 9/10ths the ability of the far more uncompromising Evo and STI. Sounds like a recipe for success to me.

We’ll have more on the Lancer Sportback Ralliart once it’s hit the stands at Paris, but until then, feel free to ogle these pics of the Sportback doing its best Stormtrooper impression.

 

[Source: Mitsubishi]
[Images: Mitsubishi]