Wheels (Australia)

MODERN CLASSIC: MITSU PAJERO EVO

A RALLY-SPECIAL BUILT TO JUMP AND SOAR, AND ONE THAT LEFT ITS COMPETITOR­S IN A CLOUD OF DUST

- PHOTOS NATHAN DUFF

It was the SUV pulled from the ’burbs, re-engineered for battle and sent in to dominate the hostilitie­s of Dakar

YOU’D HAVE to be crazy. Imagine willingly signing up for a 10,000km race that tosses you into some of the world’s most inhospitab­le conditions where you and your co-driver could be shot at, have to dodge livestock, translate a complex toilet roll-thick course book, negotiate in multiple dialects and overcome mechanical hurdles including inevitable tyre punctures in searing desert heat. Sound good? Well here is the machine made for exactly this task… The 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution was single-mindedly built to win the Dakar rally. While the Lancer Evolution was making a name for itself in the World Rally Championsh­ip (WRC), delivering the original Evo I in 1992 and, with the Subaru WRX, changing the performanc­e road-car landscape forever, the other side of Mitsubishi’s Ralliart competitio­n department was beefing up the Pajero to win the toughest race in the world: Dakar. It all started when Mitsubishi found itself playing catch-up with its Pajero against its Japanese rivals, who’d been selling off-roaders for decades. Toyota, inspired by the original 1948 Land Rover, launched its now iconic Landcruise­r globally in 1951, the same year Nissan introduced its alternativ­e, the Patrol. Mitsubishi had built its version of the Willys Jeep in Japan under licence from 1953, but the company didn’t have permission to export it, losing significan­t ground to Toyota and Nissan. It wasn’t until the early 1970s that Mitsubishi dipped a toe in the water with its own four-wheel drive, named the ‘Pajero’ concept. Shown at the 1973 Tokyo show, it looked like a halfhearte­d tarted up Jeep, but the 1979 Pajero II concept was a much more promising execution and not far off the design of the original NB Pajero production model that finally hit Japan’s showrooms in 1982. The early ’80s timing was ripe here in Australia, too. With Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) formed in 1980 and hungry for success, the new Pajero was aggressive­ly pitched against the incumbent Landcruise­r

– on sale here since 1960 – and Patrol, which had only arrived in 1980. The Pajero, ‘The ultimate off-road machine’, arrived in Australia in 1983 facing stiff competitio­n. Globally, Mitsubishi HQ in Japan was looking for ways to claw back the 30-odd year advantage that Toyota and Nissan enjoyed. How could Pajero do it? The same way Lancer made its mark in the 1970s – by rallying and winning. Mitsubishi certainly wasn’t afraid to back its new steed. In only its second year of production, a pair of lightly modified Pajeros were entered in the 1983 Paris-Dakar, winning the teams prize on debut with an impressive 11th place finish. When Scotsman Andrew Cowan – who’d taken Mitsubishi’s first rally win, the 1972 Southern Cross Rally – formed the brand’s new competitio­n arm, Ralliart, in 1984, the bunfight was truly on. A stunning third was achieved that year, with Pajero the first production vehicle home, before Mitsubishi’s new off-roader broke through to win in 1985, doing so in serious style – a one-two with Frenchman Patrick Zaniroil’s Pajero leading home Cowan. In their dust was a pair of FJ60 Landcruise­rs… The Pajero was dusting its competitio­n here, too. The inaugural Australasi­an Safari (the Wynns Safari) in 1985 saw that year’s Dakar runner-up, Cowan, take another impressive victory for a Pajero. It was the first of an astounding seven consecutiv­e Safari wins for Mitsubishi, and 12 in total for the brand by the event’s demise in 2014. While Pajero dominated the Safari, it wouldn’t taste Dakar success for another seven years. Locked in a furious battle with Peugeot – who won it four years in a row from 1987 – and Citroen, winners for 1991, Pajero hit back with wins in ’92 and ’93, but Citroen three-peated between ’94-’96, making it hat-tricks for both French marques. With prototypes freshly banned, signalling Citroen’s exit, Pajero took the 1997 event as Dakar organisers introduced regulation­s for a new production vehicle-based T2 category for the forthcomin­g 1998 event. Enter the Pajero Evolution. To develop the PajEvo roadgoing homologati­on vehicle as the new regulation­s demanded, Mitsubishi tapped the legendary Kenjiro Shinozuka, its works rally driver who’d not only won multiple rally-raids and the Asia-Pacific Rally Championsh­ip, but drove his Pajero to Dakar victory in ‘97. The project started with the three-door NL Pajero. From there, it went wild – in every sense. PajEvo’s exterior looks straight out of a child’s crayon fantasy, with its pumped guards, comical aero package and its angry stance from every angle. Up front, there’s an aluminium bonnet with air intakes flanked by blistered and vented guards that flow into the integrated bumper with driving lights. The set-up allows a bigger lower front air intake, too, but also sharpens up the PajEvo’s approach angle with its aggressive tilt towards the aluminium bash-plate, aiding rock-climbing and jumping abilities. Larger wheel arches enable 16-inch six-spoke wheels with chunkier 265/70 rubber and bigger brakes to be fitted, with the front track widened by 125mm. ‘Evolution’ sidesteps between the PajEvo’s 2450mm wheelbase continue into the pumped rear guards and 110mm wider rear track, with the chunky tail-end bumper tucking up above the rear bash plate to help increase ground clearance and deliver a superior departure angle, again, all with Dakar in mind. Designed for high-speed stability in windy conditions, the aero package is at peak Dakar craziness at the PajEvo’s rear, with devil horns that look like they belong on a Japanese figurine, and aero bridges climbing the C-pillar from the pumped rear guard to those combat helmet-like roof spikes. It links the guards and bumpers at both ends to bring all these pieces into one continuous flow around the vehicle. Capped off with its massive mudflaps, the Pajero Evo looks like it’s dressed for a Manga party. It’s no party pooper: extreme capability comes from replacing the standard road-going Pajero’s front torsion bar and live axle rear for a completely unique suspension set-up. Shinozuka and the team

Designed for high-speed stability in windy conditions, the aero package is at peak Dakar craziness at the PajEvo’s rear

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