√Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart under consideration

An Asia-Pacific off-road racing series for utes could pave the way for a Ralliart version of the next-generation Mitsubishi Triton.

The Ford Ranger Raptor and Nissan Navara Warrior could be faced with a new rival if top-secret plans for a Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart edition get off the ground.

Mitsubishi Australia came close to launching a special edition of the current-generation Mitsubishi Triton (pictured below) with the help of Walkinshaw Automotive Group – the former parent company of Holden Special Vehicles which recently completed two successful variants of the outgoing Volkswagen Amarok.

However, the Walkinshaw special editions of the Mitsubishi Triton appear to have run out of road before the new model arrives in local showrooms.

The Japanese car giant is now working on fresh plans for a flagship version of the new-generation model – either as an in-house Ralliart edition or an Australian-developed program.

Mitsubishi Ralliart has been competing in an Asia-Pacific cross-country rally series for utes and is the reigning championship-winning team.

The executive in charge of product strategy for Mitsubishi Motors, Koichi Namiki, says the motorsport program is not just window dressing.

“We’ve been participating in a lot of competition (with the current-generation Mitsubishi Triton) and actually the purpose of doing that is not just for promotion, but also to gain a lot of information from very severe usage,” said Namiki-san.

“What we have done is to put many sensors on (the vehicle) and collected a lot of information from that … including how the vehicle withstands such severe usage.”

When asked whether a future Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart edition would come from Japan or be developed with the Walkinshaw Automotive Group, the global boss of sales and marketing for Mitsubishi – and former CEO of Mitsubishi Australia – John Signoriello, said:

“We’ve been approached by a very reputable second-stage manufacturer who sees a lot of potential in the vehicle and has been speaking to us about some options.

“Those discussions are still underway, so I can’t say much more than that, other than to say they see some really good potential doing a lot more with that vehicle. All I can say at this point, watch that space.”

The executive in charge of product strategy for Mitsubishi Motors, Koichi Namiki, said Australia was a priority market for the Mitsubishi Triton.

The Japanese company has a higher market share in Australia than it does in Japan – and Australia is one of the most profitable regions for the manufacturer.

Namiki-san said the new Mitsubishi Triton would arrive in local showrooms soon after it goes on sale in Thailand where it is made.

“Thailand will be first because that’s where we manufacture the vehicle,” said Namiki-san. “From a quality reassurance point of view, it’s very important to begin with the mother country.

“However, in terms of development it’s very much different. It’s difficult to upgrade (the vehicle) to an Australian version, so we consider the Australian market at the beginning and then it happens to be sold in Thailand first. But always Australia is in mind.”

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