yea... it's the same car....
same chassis just like your car is the same as a neon & my viggen is the same as a base 9-3. They did slightly restyle the exterior & added AWD, a better motor/suspension, but the chassis & interior is the same (except the seats).
I do not beleive the EVO's & STi's are sports cars. Sport sedans yes because they weigh to much, have to many doors, to many seats etc to be a sports car. It's not that they cannot beat many sports cars around a roadcoarse or on a rally stage, their base design just doesn't throw them in that class
Then again I feel some of the exotic cars like the Veyron as well as some cars out of Japan like the Supra's, 3000GT's & 300z's aren't sports cars either. They are GT cars due to their weight & amount of electorinc crap....
on a completely different subject.... I am here on this site because I cannot decide between a Elise or a Esprit both of which to me are sports cars ....
Somehow I got sucked into this debate