Spending ΂£30K on a car that can teach a ΂£100K Ferrari a few lessons in real-world ability is a simple, honest, enduring concept that keen drivers on a medium-sized budget find hard to resist. Admittedly some take this notion rather too literally, zealously waging a four-wheeled class war against every 911, M3 and Modena they encounter. Fortunately enthusiasts with a less fundamentalist outlook also continue to recognise an Evo or STi as an attainable means of experiencing top-level performance and dynamics. In every objective sense they are an exceptional breed.

Whatever your take on rabid, rally-bred saloons, our collective appetite seems undiminished. In fact the faster and more able they get, the more we like them. The lads at Mitsubishi know this better than anyone, which is why seemingly minutes after launching the Evo VIII FQ-300 (a hotted-up version of the standard, year-old Evo VIII), we are presented with the even hotter FQ-330.

It's a strategy favoured by Japanese superbike makers: tirelessly developing mildly tweaked versions of already ballistic bikes on an annual basis. By employing the same practice, Mitsubishi is pandering to the part of our brains that likes to think we've got the latest mobile or thinnest LCD television.

Perhaps because of this I approach the FQ-330 with a healthy pinch of scepticism. Can an increase of 29bhp and 5lb ft of torque really make a noticeable difference in a car weighing 1410kg? More to the point, is it worth paying an extra ΂£3000 for the engine upgrade and other modifications?
Outwardly the answer is no. Sitting on familiar 17in alloys, this FQ looks no different to the FQ-300 or basic Evo VIII. Admittedly, the stock Evo is aggressively extrovert, but that's all the more reason to expect some distinguishing features on the top model. A new set of wheels would probably be enough.

Black leather and Alcantara-trimmed seats, complete with Ralliart logos, dominate the interior. They are unique to the FQ-330, as is Smart Nav satellite navigation. Otherwise the FQ's cockpit is business as usual - well constructed and easy to live with, but heavy on the plastic and light on style.

Twist the ignition key and the Evo's distinctive, lazy-sounding starter motor chunters the 2-litre, in-line four into life. Settling into a resolute, resonant idle, the FQ-330 burbles busily through its chimney-like tailpipe. It's a noise that sounds fruity from the outside but charmless from the driver's seat.

Dial-up a few thousand revs, feed in the precise, sharp-acting clutch and the FQ-330 pulls away cleanly, but there's a low-rev, low-speed hollowness that betrays the engine's higher state of tune. Running at 1.4 bar boost pressure the FQ needs a good lungful of exhaust gasses to fully spool up, which inevitably leads to a pause between your right foot hitting the carpet and your spine pressing into the seat cushion.

This momentary lag isn't too big a problem though, for the boost builds smoothly and reasonably early. By 4000rpm there's that delicious sense of being embraced ever tighter by your old friend, gravity. The FQ-330's domain is between 5000 and 7000rpm, mustering an edge and intensity the FQ-300 can't live with. Whether the increased lag at low and middling revs costs more time than the pile-driving top-end can regain is hard to tell, but the FQ-330's on-boost muscle certainly makes it the most vivid and exciting Evo VIII we've driven.

Chassis-wise the FQ-330 is identical to the FQ-300 and cooking Evo VIII, which means light but feelsome steering, a very pointy front end, zero understeer and an infinitely throttle adjustable balance. Consequently it's an easy car to drive quickly, but demands skilled hands and healthy respect to truly master.

As with all VIIIs, grip levels are extremely high, thanks to Yokohama Advan AO46 tyres, which also cope well with damp and wet conditions despite their track-biased tread design.

The FQ-330 is a flawless upgrade in so much as it builds on the Evo's intrinsic strengths. However, that means flaws remain. Ride quality, or rather the lack of it, is a major downside and gets genuinely wearing with everyday use, while 4500-mile service intervals and a profligate thirst for super unleaded make running any Evo over significant mileages a major financial drain. If you can accept these failings, and can afford the premium, it's the only Evo VIII to have. For now at least.