Magazines have been slapping the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X on their covers for some time now, but the car was never officially launched here in Singapore - not till last Saturday at least.

But like they say, good things are worth waiting for.

And so, Cycle & Carriage introduced both the manual and SST versions of the Evolution X on the February 16th with fireworks to light up the night sky and the acrid smell of burning rubber to remind everyone what the Evo stands for.

The launch party - appropriately dubbed 'Evoism' - was held at the National Stadium's East Entrance with DJs Jean Danker and Glenn Ong as hosts for the evening.

No self-respecting car launch would be complete without stunning ladies in figure-hugging outfits a.k.a. racequeens, to complement the star of the show.

Cycle & Carriage certainly spared no expense flying three 'kawaii' racequeens from Tokyo just for the evening.

Above: Katsuhiko Taguchi and the racequeens pose with the Evo X

Despite clashing with this year's Chingay Parade, 'Evoism' still attracted a decent crowd of about 500 Evo fanatics, many of whom had come just for rally driver Katsuhiko Taguchi's driving demo.

The 2007 Asia Pacific Rally Champion wowed the crowd with deft drifts and headspinning donuts in the Evo X in a dynamic driving display that lasted barely a minute.

Taguchi then spent the rest of the night as taxi driver, giving joyrides to winners of the 'Evo Unscramble' contest on the official Evo website (www.evoX.com.sg) - sans the midnight surcharge.