MITSUBISHI Pajero Evo
Pajero owned Dakar from 1997 through to its final factory effort in 2007, demoralising its opposition with nine wins in 11 years
“I like to pick up the oddballs,” says Zach, owner of the PajEvo you see here. “Quirky looking cars, with a bit of character, a bit of a story to tell. The Evolution fits that, and has great pedigree to go with it.” His 1997 auto is actually his daily driver, well into triple figures on the odo. “You sit high in it, it fits into small spaces, and I love its simplicity,” Zach says. And it turns heads. “It gets peculiar looks – like ‘what the hell is that?’, but people are quite awed when you tell them the pedigree of the car, the Dakar wins.”
developed multi-link suspension at both ends; suspension travel is a substantial 240mm up front and 270mm at the rear. Getting the PajEvo to great heights was the second key component: an exclusive version of the brand’s naturally-aspirated 3.5-litre V6. An uprated version of the 6G74, which was already used in the Pajero and would find its way under the bonnet of the locally-made Magna and Magna Ralliart, PajEvo used a double-overhead cam version in place of the regular Pajero’s single-cam arrangement, which boasted direct fuel injection, variable valve timing and variable intake system as well as forged conrods. Power was a claimed 206kW, although like all Japanese cars of this era, there’s suggestion it made slightly more than the agreed power cap for JDM models at the time, with peak torque a solid 358Nm from 3000rpm. That grunt was fed through Mitsubishi’s Super Select four-wheel drive system, enabled by using the regular Pajero’s centre viscous-coupling limited-slip differential. As it does in the regular Pajero, the system offers four modes, giving access to rear-wheel drive, high-range all-wheel drive as well as high-range diff lock and low-range diff lock. For PajEvo, it’s teamed with a five-speed ‘INVECS-II’ auto with sequential shift, which can hold gears, or a five-speed manual, which accounted for only 500 of the total 2500 produced between 1997 and 1999. While the engineering and the exterior is wild, the cabin’s comparatively tame. Uniquely patterned black Recaro front and rear seats are matched by a black leather-wrap four-spoke airbag steering wheel, while there’s the ’90s mandatory imitation carbonfibre instrument surrounds. ABS, climate control, power windows and modcons are all there, too. To drive, the PajEvo wasn’t the ballistic missile that the Evo Lancers were, but defied physics in a different way. On paper, its 8.1-second 0-100km/h time is rapid for 1997 and 1970kg, but not supercar fast – nor was its 209km/h v-max. Its suspension gave it a softer ride, as it was designed for compliance over long, long distances at serious speed. On sale in Japan in late 1997, each individually numbered Pajero Evo was listed for around $45K, with examples advertised today on sale for around $50K-$65K. Oh, and did it win Mitsubishi the Dakar again? You bet. The Pajero owned Dakar from 1997 through to its final factory effort in 2007, demoralising its opposition with a staggering nine wins in eleven years, filling all three podium places on four occasions, and with four one-two finishes. This included German Jutta Kleinschmidt’s 2001 triumph to become the first and still only woman to win the Dakar. In 2021, Pajero still holds the record for Dakar stage wins at 161, ahead of next-best Peugeot on 78, and with 12 victories, has won more Dakars than any other nameplate while earning Mitsubishi the most manufacturer wins. To cap it off Mitsubishi finally posted a hat-trick, which came with Stephane Peterhansel’s 2004 win on the way to seven consecutive Pajero victories. Landcruiser nor Patrol can boast a single win. Now that’s evolution.