Hot laps in Mitsubishi Triton AXCR rally ute

It’s blistering cold as we gather in a carpark surrounded by hefty chunks of ice that are finally starting to thaw, and Hiroshi Masuoka slides me a business card from a neat stack tucked away in a protective plastic case.

I later discover the significance of trading business cards in Japanese business culture – meishi – along with the correct etiquette when doing so, which includes studying its contents upon receipt.

Masuoka-san has a long list of credentials, but most know him as the two-time Dakar Rally winner (2002 and 2003) that now plays a key role in Mitsubishi’s Ralliart motorsport team.

Now 63, the motorsport veteran has his fingers in a few pies: Chief Expert, Public Relations Department General Manager, and general manager of the brand’s recently developed Ralliart Business Promotion Office, just to name a few. 

Today, he’s our pilot and we’re at Mitsubishi’s largest vehicle testing site, the Tokachi proving ground – a whopping 1000-hectare facility located just outside Obihiro in Japan’s northernmost region of Hokkaido.

We’re here to get a sense of how the Japanese car-maker’s motorsport endeavours will not only help develop the next-generation Mitsubishi Triton, but play a key role in the revival of the legendary Ralliart name.

Parked in the corner of the carpark is the vehicle Masuoka-san’s team has spent countless hours developing.

It’s not the race ute driven to victory by Chayapon Yotha in its debut assault on the 2022 Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR), but instead a stickered-up development version of the AXCR racer currently residing in Thailand.

Therefore this test mule doesn’t have a roll cage, stripped-out interior, carbon-fibre body panels or an air intake snorkel, but it is equipped with the race ute’s rear disc brakes, Cusco limited-slip differentials and adjustable Cusco dampers at all four corners, where lightweight alloy wheels are fitted with off-road Yokohama rubber.

The stock 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel has also been retuned, and despite officially producing the same 133kW/430Nm outputs as the regular Triton, Mitsubishi says it’s “more responsive in the mid-speed ranges frequently used in rallies”.

But other modifications for this development ute aim at weight and friction reduction.

While the ice melts around the edges of a grueling off-road track covered by inches of sloppy mud and lined with steep banks and large trees, we hop into the passenger seat alongside Masuoka-san, who’s ready to show us the development ute’s capabilities… at pace.

Although there’s a race seat and harness fitted for the driver, Masuoka-san opts for the factory seat belt. We do the same because that’s all there is.

Expectations of a leisurely few laps go out the window as soon as we leave the carpark pavement and head down the grassy hill that connects to the tough-truck track.

The AXCR prototype sounds a lot tougher than a street-legal Triton, thanks to the removal of the stock catalytic converter and the addition of an HKS exhaust system – modifications you’d never get away with on Aussie roads.

Outside, Masuoka-san can be heard ripping through the six-speed transmission from a mile away, even through thick bushland. 

In the passenger seat, it’s manic.

Mitsubishi’s in-house rally ace wrestles the steering wheel, throttling it sideways through mud at a pace that feels unnatural for a machine this size and weight – particularly when the track is lined with a obstacles.

We probably saw no more than 60km/h, but in these conditions it was more than enough speed. The only time the dual-cab pointed straight ahead was when Masuoka-san was setting it up for a Scandinavian flick into the next corner.

And he did so at full tilt, regardless of the deep mud or bogholes in the way. Masuoka-san launched the Triton sideways over everything we come across and even bounced it off a raised bank on the exit of a sweeping corner on our first lap.

Getting airborne ever so briefly after flying through a huge puddle on the run-up to a dirt jump, the Triton felt rock-solid landing on all fours.

With plenty of torque at the ready, the development ute’s grippy off-road rubber delivered outstanding traction pretty much everywhere on the rugged, slushy course.  

A closer inspection after our laps revealed the absence of any additional suspension reinforcement apart from the Cusco shocks, which was surprising given the brutal punishment it copped at the mercy of Masuoka-san, lap after lap.

While the muddy off-road circuit was probably more challenging than anything many owners would put their own Triton through, it’s testament to what proper off-road hardware can deliver, at least in experienced hands.

Outside the vehicle, Masuoka-san expressed his excitement in helping to develop high-performance Ralliart variants of current Mitsubishi models, and there’s a good chance the first Triton Ralliart will be among them, based on the new-generation dual-cab 4x4 ute due on sale here by early 2024.

It was a sentiment echoed by the company’s global sales and marketing executive officer – and Mitsubishi’s former Australia chief – John Signoriello.

“Ralliart is a very proud name – it’s a very strong name and we need to do it justice,” he said.

“[But] We have to be realistic. Performance is about powertrain but it’s also other things as well. This is about a complete package [and] there’s no doubt that we need to do it properly.”

If Mitsubishi produces its first Triton Ralliart, it’s likely to be more of a rival for the Nissan Navara Warrior than the Ford Ranger Raptor.

But if the Japanese car-maker can produce a road-going version of its new Triton that’s as capable as this hard-core AXCR development vehicle, it’ll be one tough truck.

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