The Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution is an off-road competition car based on the
. It was specially designed to take part in the
rally raids
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sports ...
with the main objective of winning the
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...
. In addition to those produced for competition use only, a road-legal version was manufactured by Mitsubishi from 1997 to 1999 in order to
homologate
Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...
the Pajero Evolution for the Dakar Rally's
T2 class. Approximately 2500 road-legal examples were produced.
Street version (V55W)
The road-legal version of the Pajero Evolution was produced between 1997 and 1999. It was based on the
second generation Pajero but had many features unique to the model. Approximately 2500 units were produced in order to homologate the type for the Dakar Rally's production-based T2 class. It was equipped with a 3.5-litre 24-valve DOHC V6
6G74 engine with
MIVEC
MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control system) is the brand name of a variable valve timing (VVT) engine technology developed by Mitsubishi Motors. MIVEC, as with other similar systems, varies the timing of the intake and ex ...
and a dual plenum variable intake. This engine produced a claimed 275 bhp at 6500 rpm.
The two-door body incorporated large fender flares, two fin-like rear
spoilers, a
hood scoop
A hood scoop (North American English) or bonnet scoop (Commonwealth English), sometimes called bonnet airdam and air dam, is an upraised component on the hood of a motor vehicle that either allows a flow of air to directly enter the engine co ...
, and various other racing-inspired styling elements. Skid plates and
mudflaps were included for additional off-road protection.
Double wishbone
A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...
independent suspension was used on the front and the rear used a
multi-link independent suspension unique to the Pajero Evolution.
4WD
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
was standard, with front and rear
Torsen differentials.
Competition history
In January 1983, the first Pajero Evolution debuted at the
Paris Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...
, taking first place in 1985 at only the third attempt. Other wins followed, at events such as the
Australasian Safari and
Northern Forest.
With 12 victories from 1985 to 2007, it is the car that has won the Dakar Rally the most times.
Dakar victories
A Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, driven by Andrew Cowan, finished the 1984 Paris–Alger–Dakar as the third ranked winner in overall class after covering more than 11,000 km. Mitsubishi dominated with multiple first, second and third place podium finishes until their final wins in 2007. From 2001-2005, with the introduction of their third generation Pajero with monocoque chassis and fully independent suspension, Mitsubishi had 5 consecutive first-place finishes and 12 of all 15 podium finishes in the same time period. Their overall record was 12 total overall wins (1st place) in the "Cars Class" and 150 stage wins (the second best being Peugeot with only 78 stage wins in comparison). Mitsubishi earned the title of ‘Most Dakar Rally Wins by A Manufacturer’ from the Guinness World Records.
See also
*
References
External links
Pajero: la regina della Dakar
{{Mitsubishi Motors vehicles
Rally cars
Rally raid cars
Dakar Rally winning cars
Pajero Evolution
Cars introduced in 1997