The discontinuation of certain cars can be attributed to the changing behavior of consumers. The racing? Clearly a company call, and Mitsubishi made a bad one at that.

Their success at Dakar and WRC aren’t just bragging rights. It gave birth to great features and engineering we enjoy today. It’s the reason the Montero Sport has a comfortable ride comfort despite having a firm suspension setup. Same with the current Triton that’s not as stiff as other pickups in its class. It also gave us the Active Yaw Control that’s fitted in the current Xpander Cross and Xforce, giving them better cornering ability even in wet conditions. Mitsubishi’s experience in different off-road conditions also resulted in the Super Select 4WD present in their 4WD models, the Drive Modes in the XForce, and the Super All-Wheel Control in the Eclipse Cross (not available in the Philippines).

Mitsubishi did the same, somewhat, to their EV projects. They joined the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb back in 2012-2014 to see if their technology can go 4,300 meters above sea level. After this, they helped a team go through the Asian Cross Country Rally with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV by providing them with technical support.

This is why Mitsubishis are some of the most enduring cars in the world. They were not developed inside laboratories with simulations. They were sent out in the wild, in real world conditions, in the most grueling ways possible to torture them and came back with technologies that benefited the whole family of cars across the globe. Mitsubishi without racing would relegate the brand to the second row, so to speak. There would be no innovation and they’ll merely follow the trends.

Luckily, Mitsubishi had a change of heart in 2021 and decided to join the 2022 Asia Cross Country Rally in Thailand as a works team this time. Chayapon Yotha and co-driver Peerapong Sombutwong finished that year with a commanding 8-minute lead . They weren’t so lucky after that as they settled for a third place finish in 2023. 2024 AXCR wasn’t kind to Mitsubishi either as their best driver DNF’d, while the leading car driven by Katsuhiko Taguchi finished fifth. In my opinion though, this is best for Mitsubishi.

Not getting the top spot leaves a lot of room for improvement, and that’s exactly what they’re doing with the sixth--generation Triton. 2023 saw it get fitted with better brakes, dampers, and tires. The engine was re-tuned and paired with a better turbo as well. Still, it wasn’t enough.

For 2024, the Triton had the same improvements, but some additions as well. There’s a wider track, a bigger turbo, better intake and exhaust system, a new 6-speed sequential transmission, and a 4-link coil spring suspension at the rear.

Mitsubishi’s lead driver, Chayapon Yotha, seemed to have taken the lead at Leg 5 of the 2024 AXCR with this improved Triton. There was only two kilometers to go when the engine suddenly stopped and they had to be pulled by another Triton to the finish line, leading to a penalty. Ultimately, they did not finish this year’s AXCR.

“We’ve evolved the Triton in all directions to take revenge for last year and we were able to verify its effectiveness. On the other hand, it was a frustrating result. Chayapon moved up places one by one from 3rd to take the lead, but ran into trouble. However, the direction in which we have been preparing is not wrong, and the car’s performance has improved significantly. We’ll prepare for next year to further improve driving performance and reliability.” said Hiroshi Masuoka, Team Director of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart and 2-time winner of Dakar Rally.

With the job left unfinished for the sixth-gen Triton, Mitsubishi will certainly be more eager in making improvements to the pickup. It’s exciting for me what else can they add to the Triton to make it faster and more durable. Not all modifications will trickle down to the production versions obviously but as we’ve seen before, it is how the three-diamond brand makes new technology.

Right now Team Mitsubishi Ralliart is only participating in the Asia Cross Country Rally which is very localized in Southeast Asia. If they see success here, who knows, Mitsubishi might consider joining the bigger FIA-sanctioned races. One thing’s for sure, AXCR is Mitsubishi’s stepping stone to return to their best form.