Andrew Simms' Mitsubishi (ASM) rally team believes it has the machinery, mechanics and the manpower to make a ''genuine assault'' on the national rally championship.
Team owner and principal sponsor Simms has no desire to get behind the wheel. He jokes that his expertise is limited to cleaning the windows but he still gets a satisfying return on investment.
''It engenders a lot of pride amongst our staff,''he says.
After making the decision to finance a team last year and securing Ralliart New Zealand Mitsubishi Motors managing director Neil Allport as team manager, he enlisted supporting backers and bought a ''donor'' car.
The Evo 9 started life as a road-going sedan, was undressed to bare body shell and had specialised and-built components added, to turn it into a high-spec Group N gravel-spraying monster.
After several outings last season, the Ralliart team spent the summer ''honing it to where we wanted it to be,'' and the result, although satisfactory, is expensive.
''We had not much change out of $250,000 to build the car,'' Simms admits.
On top of this cash injection, are the regular top-ups amounting to about $150,000 to run the Mitsubishi for the six-round season.
Experienced rally driver Chris West finished his contract with Subaru last year and was snapped up by its rival red diamond marque.
Partnered by his long-term co-driver Gary Cowan, the duo, plus the custom-manufactured charger made an attractive trio to present to sponsors, Simms says.
His company has an interest in six Mitsubishi dealerships nationally and has a ''strong vested interest'' in seeing the brand do well.
One way was to support a rally team, with the aim of raising its profile via event coverage, Simms explains.
Adding to the mix is the fact motorsport fans love a good rivalry - think Ford versus Holden.
This season's top contenders are split up between the red and the blue camp.
West, Geraldine's Hayden Paddon and Hawkes Bay's Stewart Taylor are all gunning it in Evo 9s, while the Wairarapa's Richard Mason, Dunedin's Emma Gilmour and Sam Murray, of Palmerston North, are pedalling Imprezas.
''My feeling is that this year we are going to have a much closer competition and there's going to be a real ding-dong between Mitsubishi and Subaru,'' Simms predicts.
West has had no qualms about switching sides.
He now works as a Mitsubishi service adviser, describes the Evo 9 as a ''proven package'' and has quickly made the transition to the different technology.
However, last month's Rally of Wairarapa was testing for the (ASM) team in more facets than just the prevalent dust.
West and Cowan finished second overall but were later relegated to fifth after copping a one- minute time penalty for a start infringement.
A four-time winner at Otago, West will be putting the first round behind him and looking to stamp his authority again on his favourite event.
He believes the demanding combination of challenging crests and blind corners suit his style and will make ASM a tough team to catch.
