There is demand for the Ford Ranger Raptor, so why isn't Mitsubishi selling this rally-capable Triton? Dakar legend Masuoka explains
Hans · Sep 17, 2022 11:51 AM
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The Ford Ranger Raptor has made quite a name for itself. It’s the G-Shock of the truck world. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors, for reasons only they know, is sending its Triton into the region's toughest rally event, proving that it walks the talk but refuses to sell you a motorsports-grade Triton.
Mitsubishi is not new to the Asian Cross Country Rally (AXCR). It was the venue used by Mitsubishi to set the record of becoming the world's first manufacturer to complete a grueling rally with a plug-in hybrid road car (Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid), racing in the tropical heat and humidity – the two things batteries hate – not once but twice.
For this year's AXCR event, Mitsubishi has revived its dormant RalliArt brand and will be sending three Mitsubishi Tritons to the starting line of November’s 2022 AXCR.
Unlike the World Rally Championship, AXCR is an endurance rally. It’s a bit like a less fancy, Southeast Asian version of the Dakar Rally. Since this an endurance event, keeping a consistent pace and maintaining good reliability is far more important than top speed.
Like its previous entries with the Outlander Plug-in Hybrid, the AXCR Tritons are kept as close as possible to the production car. Modifications are limited only to the suspension, weight reduction, and fitment of safety equipment required by motorsports governing body FIA. The engine and transmission remain unchanged. Even the AXCR Triton's engine cooling system is kept standard.
The Ranger Raptor is built by Ford Performance, and is a textbook example of a successful marketing that leverages on motorsports-inspired image to sell higher profit margin, performance-oriented variants of a standard road car.
The RalliArt is revived to achieve do the same as Ford Performance Vehicles but the problem is that for customers walking into a Mitsubishi Motors showroom, RalliArt is still an accessories-only brand.
The RalliArt you want vs the RalliArt that's on sale
That’s a shame because unlike the advertisements-only Ford, Mitsubishi backs its claims by racing their Tritons and their rally effort is headed is a two-time Dakar Rally legend – Hiroshi Masuoka. It's a genuine and honest motorsports exercise.
When asked about what the chances of customers being able to buy a higher performance rally-capable Triton, Masuoka said it is his dream to be able to translate Mitsubishi’s rallying activities into a tangible product that customers can buy, but it’s not a dream that he can realize today.
Hiroshi Masuoka won the Dakar twice, 2002 and 2003. He also won several more category wins years earlier
“This is still in my dream. My dream is to be able to give back something that is material. It’s not a simple dream but right now, I just hope that you can feel the heat and passion with RalliArt dress up parts first for the time being and be a little bit patient.
"In the future, of course the team will do their best to be able to give you further excitement,” explained Masuoka at the preview of AXCR Triton in Triton in Kanchanaburi, Thailand earlier this month.
Masuoka added that this is Mitsubishi Motor’s first competitive event done under revived RalliArt brand, so it is still at the RalliArt and Triton brands promotion stage.
“My personal dream is to bring bigger challenges to Triton and bring Triton to the world stage,” said the 62-year old Dakar Rally legend, who now serves as one of the Vice Presidents at Mitsubishi Motors, and overseas public relations (Chief Expert, Public Relations Department) and vehicle testing (General Manager, Vehicle Function Testing Department, Vehicle Engineering Development Division 1).
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
