In 1985 Mitsubishi finished the seventh running of the Paris-Dakar Rally with a pair of Pajeros in a 1-2 sweep, becoming the first Japanese carmaker to win the event. The first place Pajero was immediately shipped to Mitsubishi’s collection in Japan and stored there. Now, 40 years later, this history-making truck has been restored.
The 22-day race spanned 6,390 miles, seven countries, and two crossings of the perilous Ténéré Desert in north Africa. It was the toughest motorsport contest in the world. Of the 362 cars that started in Versailles, only 101 cars finished. Mitsubishi beat out many more established marques, including Land Rover, Mercedes, Nissan, Daihatsu, Renault, Peugeot, Porsche, and Toyota, which finished in third place with an FJ60 Land Cruiser.
To honor the one that started it all, Mitsubishi began a restoration of the winning Pajero earlier this year. Somehow it managed to find some money in its meager budget and put engineers from the WRC and Dakar works teams on the project. With four decades of sitting, the Paj needed a lot of reconditioning to get it in running condition. Livery and sponsor decals had cracked and yellowed with age.
The team completely disassembled the car, even tearing down the 2.6-liter 4G54 engine. In production form it made about 110 horsepower, but the Dakar racer’s larger turbo and intercooler bumped output up to 222. According to Mitsubishi, the engine was reassembled and fired up without any major parts replaced.
The rally raider (no pun intended) had a few other differences from the production Pajero. Standard body panels were swapped with carbon- and Kevlar-reinforced plastic ones, reducing weight by 440 pounds. The front axle was moved forward for a more stable wheelbase and better front-rear weight distribution. The rear suspension was converted from leaf springs to a three-link setup for better grip. An upgraded final gear gave it a top speed of 115 mph. Each of these components was restored and reassembled.
The livery and sponsor decals were reapplied, but the scratches and dents earned during the race were kept in tact. The restored Pajero was displayed at the Japan Mobility Show and will be touring and making demo runs across Japan.
The Pajero’s victory kicked off an absolute dynasty for Mitsubishi. It would go on to win the event 12 more times, including a string of seven consecutive championships from 2001 to 2007, after which Mitsubishi pulled out due to the global financial crisis. Both records have yet to be broken.
Images courtesy of Mitsubishi.
