Wednesday 6th December 2017

Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution: Spotted

Lamborghini what? Bentley who? The original 'Super Sport Utility Vehicle' was a Mitsubishi.

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In the last 48 hours alone we've written about the launch of the Lamborghini Urus, driven Alfa's new Stelvio Quadrifoglio, and reported on the imminent arrival of a 707hp Jeep on UK shores. None of those can hold a candle to today's Spotted though, an off-road vehicle with genuine sporting pedigree.

Back before the buying public became consumed by the notion that they might one day need to ford an active lava flow whilst on the school run, or summit Ben Nevis on the way back from the shops, performance SUVs were few and far between. There were a few noteworthy examples of course, like Lamborghini's LM002 and Overfinch's fettled Range Rovers. But where the Lambo might have started life as a military vehicle, and Overfinch's offerings may have been able to trace their heritage back to a Schuler-equipped Dakar winner, the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution had much more direct off-road performance cred.

Just 2,500 were built to homologate the Pajero for the Dakar Rally, and a good thing too, going on as it did to win the gruelling race in both 1997 and 1998. In fact it was so dominant that in 1998 Pajeros came first, second and third, finishing five hours ahead of even the 'superior' T3-class competition. It could be said, then, that the Pajero Evo has as much claim to be a 'racecar for the road' as Ford's latest GT, and you won't get in nearly as much trouble if you need to sell it...

Not that you'll want to, of course. The PajEvo being powered by a 3.5-litre V6, putting out 280hp and 257lb ft of torque and propelling it to 60mph in just eight seconds. Underneath it has independent multi-link suspension, uprated dampers and diffs, and a track widened by as much as 125mm. Which brings us to those wheel arches. Just look at them. This is what a performance SUV should look like, and they didn't even need to worry about where to place the rear door handle.

This particular car seems to be a rather good example too. It comes with only 52,000 miles on the clock, and a desirable manual gearbox, with touches like Recaro seats and those Ralliart mudflaps only adding to the drama of the thing. For £15,000 you're unlikely to find any other homologation special as successful or as rare and, let's be honest, if you were ever to pull up next to a Urus at the lights, there'd be no doubt as to which of you had made the cooler purchase.

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SPECIFICATION - MITSUBISHI PAJERO EVO

Engine: 3,497cc, 24v V6 
Transmission: 5-speed auto, four-wheel drive 
Power (hp): 280@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 257@3,000rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1999
Recorded mileage: 52,000 miles
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £15,000

See the original advert here

[WCZ]

love these, there's a couple of owners here!

3 for sale on PH, tempted to go and have a look at one

[WCZ]

sbk1972 said:

I had one of these back in 2002 / 2004. Was a cool looking truck for the time but wasn't really that impressed with the speed. Ive had many Pajero / Shoguns and the build quality wasn't better than those. Mine was an auto and these suffer from slipping and not engaging 3/4 properly. ITs a tiptronic box.. A certain type of g/b fluid needs to be used or all hell break loose.

Fuel wise, well it rank like a pig, which I didn't mind and know, but if it was fast, would of been acceptable but it wasnt. I only had it a year or so then traded it in on a 1996 Twin Turbo Supra, which I keep for over 15 years. A far better car.

I often keep a retro eye on this Evos and nearly all have 60 miles ? Really ? I remember selling my old truck for sale and in 7 years since I sold it it had lost over 30K miles. Most are now clocked so beware.

Currently have a Mercedes AMG Ml55 which is a far better truck than an Evo and only cost me £4K, Buttons compared to an Evo.

For £15K I would rather go for a Ml63.

SBK

can anything done to sort the box out? and surely these are insanely easy to tune to 350/400