It took a while for Mitsubishi to get their act together in regards to showcasing their rally/ road cars. Here in the UK, none pf the first 5 Lancer Evo were officially imported. You had to get a 'grey import'. The 6 was the first one to be officially sold, you wonder what took them so long?

As for the VW effort, well it wasn't a surprise. One only had to look at the Audi efforts in Sportscars - they were fully committed, financially and in resources. In fact, the LMP effort was an R&D programme as opposed to marketing. If VW took the WRC programme anywhere near as seriously, (and why wouldn't they?) then everybody was in trouble, including Citroen. And their first year with the Fabia was clear evidence how committed they were.

If you want to succeed, then you have to be 'all in' - no half measures.