Yes it's definatly not a re-badged base Evo. It's the real deal. The base models sit much higher or at least look that way because of the ground effects being different. The front grill is entirely different. I thought it might pass for a OZ Racing Edition Lancer at first as well, but then I saw that the grills of those cars and bases are actually chromed, or have a vertical chrome piece that runs in the middle. Also, there are the small slits in the bumper that run horizontally. I don't think base models have that either.