Mitsubishi Motors is no longer in the World Rally Championship but with improved finances, the company is now making some crucial first steps towards an eventual return in world rallying.

Under the mentorship of two-time overall Dakar Rally champion Hiroshi Masuoka, the red tri-diamond badge’s hallowed RalliArt will soon return to the rally stage as a semi-factory-backed team, with the Mitsubishi Triton.

Come November 2022, Team Mitsubishi RalliArt - owned by Thai outfit Tant Sports, but with backing from Mitsubishi Motors - will have three Tritons, 2 competition cars and 1 high-speed support car at the starting line of the 2022 Asian Cross Country Rally (AXCR). The event is a 2,000 km long, 6-day endurance rally that will run from Buriram in Thailand to Siem Reap in Cambodia.

AXCR is closer to the Dakar Rally than WRC, as it is an endurance race so keeping a consistent pace and having a reliable car is more important than top speed – hence why Mitsubishi Motors thinks its Triton 4x4 is a perfect candidate for its factory-backed return to an international, FIA-sanctioned rally event.

Team Mitsubishi RalliArt will announce its drivers line-up later this week but here’s a closer look at how the rally specs Triton looks like.

The car is built in accordance to FIA T1.2 (Prototype cross country 4x4 diesel vehicles) regulations.

There are changes to its powertrain, but very minimal.

The aluminum 4N15 MIVEC engine’s capacity is unchanged at 2.4-litre, as is its turbo, so power output remains the same 181 PS, likewise its 430 Nm torque. The engine however, benefitted from blueprinting and slightly different tuning.

In short, it’s not the same engine as the Triton that you had just purchased, but it’s 99.5 percent the same.

“It’s a very, very, very slight tuning of the engine. The piston and crankshaft are all left as it is. It’s not even considered a minor modification, only a very, very slight one,” said Team Director Hiroshi Masuoka.

Modifications to the drivetrain is more significant. The 6-speed manual and Super Select 4WD II combo remains intact, but traction has been improved by a pair of Cusco LSD in the front and rear axles.

Mitsubishi’s signature Super Select 4WD II’s vicious centre coupling is still retained, proving how good the overall mechanical design of the Triton is.

The rally specs Tritons will be racing mostly in 4H rather than 4HLc mode, for better agility in race conditions.

4HLc is a higher speed-capable locked centre differential mode that’s not available in competitor trucks, which typically only lock the centre differential when in crawling speed-only 4L mode.

To reduce weight, the trio of racing Tritons have had their front and rear doors, as well as engine hood, replaced with lightweight carbon fibre items. Glass windows have also been replaced with plastic equivalents.

The front and rear suspension have also been beefed up by Cusco, now riding on soft, long travel adjustable shocks.

Having taken a taxi ride in one, the ride is surprisingly comfortable for a rally specs car, certainly a lot better than a typical jungle path-forging Borneo Safari truck.

The reason? This is an endurance rally and improving ride comfort has a direct result in helping the driver and co-driver concentrate better, stay in a better physical and mental state, as well as keeping the crucial mechanical parts in place.

Even after making rally-style jumps, the Triton lands softly and in a controlled manner, a testament of how good the base platform of a standard Triton is.

Its short 3,000 mm wheelbase offers the Triton an amazing level of agility, important on a tight cross country rally course. On a standard Triton with smaller diameter 265/60 R18 tyres, the Triton already offers a class-leading 5.9m turning circle, which is better than some sedans.

This rally specs Triton however, runs on slightly bigger (overall diameter) 265/70 R17 Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 tyres.

Inside, everything that does not make the car go any faster has been ripped out. You won’t find 7 airbags, blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert, autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, built-in dash cam – everything that’s available on the standard Triton Athlete.

The rear seats have also been removed, along with carpets and all sound proofing materials.

The Apple CarPlay / Android Auto-compatible infotainment is now replaced by a Motec dash display, for updates on the vehicle’s vitals. In front of the co-driver, where the passenger airbag used to be is a rally computer to help the co-driver keep track of distance, fuel, and pacing.

Since this is a rally car, a fast acting and powerful mechanical handbrake is required, so the standard car’s handbrake lever has been replaced by a shoulder height-tall hydraulics-assisted pull bar that the driver pulls to lock the rear wheels.

Brakes are now larger, 4-piston callipers scrubbing the Endless discs front and rear.

The Triton AXCR is only the first of several more RalliArt-backed competition cars to come.

While it is no Lancer Evolution, the RalliArt Triton AXCR and Indonesia’s AP4 rally specs 4-wheel drive turbocharged Xpander are all pointing towards a bigger future for Mitsubishi in rally.

Also read: This is how a 340 PS, 4WD Mitsubishi Xpander AP4 is built

There’s also another reason why Mitsubishi chose AXCR over the Dakar Rally, or even WRC.

Southeast Asia is Mitsubishi Motor’s most important market outside, so it makes business sense to promote RalliArt by using a venue that’s closest to its customers.

“Apart from building awareness, another reason for choosing AXCR is that the experiences can lead to further research and development themes, to make the car even better. This is the reason why the first step to coming back into the game is AXCR,” said Hiroshi Masuoka, who is also one of the Vice Presidents at Mitsubishi Motors, and also holds the portfolio of Chief Expert, Public Relations Department; General Manager, Vehicle Function Testing Department; General Manager, RalliArt Business Promotion Office.

Thailand has already launched a RalliArt-theme editions of the Triton. We think it’s only a matter of time before Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia launch white, RalliArt livery limited edition model to succeed the all-black Triton Phantom Plus.