Born-again 2027 Mitsubishi Pajero odds on for Oz

Will the Mitsubishi Pajero rise from the ashes to challenge the all-conquering Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series and the upcoming 2025 Nissan Y63 Patrol?

There’s a growing body of evidence that very much points to the popular Japanese off-road SUV nameplate’s eventual resurrection, with new intel out of Japan suggesting a reincarnated Pajero is already in development ahead of a market launch by 2027.

That’s the word according to well-informed Japanese automotive publication Best Car, whose information network is indicating that “…the Pajero will be revived… with the aim of rolling off the [production] line in 2027”.

The Pajero was terminated in 2021 after four generations dating back to 1982, and the latest info lines up with comments made by Mitsubishi Australia CEO, Shaun Westcott, who last month told carsales the reinstating of a large SUV – and the Pajero name – were very much on the agenda.

“I am going to quote our global CEO who said Pajero is a very valuable and very powerful nameplate and whatever we replace it with would have to be very powerful and very significant,” Westcott said.

“There is a place for it,” he declared.

“I agree very strongly with our global CEO. He and I are very well aligned.”

While momentum builds for a reborn Mitsubishi Pajero, its technical elements remain unknown but two potential development corridors are possible for the Japanese car-maker, which is part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.

Therefore one direction is to rework/redesign the next-generation Y63 Nissan Patrol, which is due to launch first in the USA later this year before arriving in Australia around mid-2025.

The new Nissan Patrol will be ‘much better’ than Australia’s top-selling upper-large SUV, the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, according to Nissan’s global product boss.

The other pathway to a reborn Pajero is the new ladder-frame platform that underpins the next-generation Mitsubishi Triton ute and its upcoming SUV sister model, the new Pajero Sport, which could also leverage Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s new-generation P2-based plug-in hybrid system for heavy-duty 4x4s.

Official product strategy documents released by Mitsubishi show an all-new Triton-based Pajero Sport will launch by 2025 and it’s been widely expected to be followed by the even bigger new Pajero.

However, the dossier also shows a large SUV being launched in late 2024/early 2025, which could be the new Pajero or perhaps an all-new model. The latter may be more likely given the latest news out of Japan putting the Pajero launch window in 2027.

Either way, it’s almost certain that the revived Mitsubishi Pajero will be a hybrid vehicle so, unlike its predecessor, it may not be a turbo-diesel vehicle.

If the Pajero ends up being based on the next-gen Y63 Patrol it’s likely to leverage the same 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, but the tone of Mitsubishi’s Australian chief suggests the born-again Pajero will move towards hybrid or even plug-in hybrid powertrains.

“Where we want to go is looking at drivetrains and improving and understanding where the world is going,” Westcott told carsales.

“We have to reduce emissions globally. We all have that responsibility and our focus is on getting more efficient powertrains in those vehicles.”

More to come.

Image: Unofficial render generated by AI