Mitsubishi Triton Raptor under consideration

Mitsubishi is the latest brand to reveal it is considering a rival for the Ford Ranger Raptor.

The brand's global chief, Trevor Mann, also told motoring.com.au at the Geneva motor show that studying dress-up top-end versions of the Mitsubishi Triton were also on the agenda.

And he revealed that Australia's developing taste for top-shelf trucks with an aggressive edge was a strong driver in spurring Mitsubishi's interest in the segment.

"I think it is something we have to look to," said Mann.

"Certainly, we see the need for a higher performance and higher-performance-looking vehicles as well," he added.

"We are seeing a lot of trucks, particularly in Australia and New Zealand to some extent, where they are becoming much more rugged if you like, this type of vehicle.

"So, this is the direction we are also looking."

Asked if the currently dormant Ralliart sub-brand could do the job for Mitsubishi in developing a high-performance Triton, Mann said: "It could make sense, yes".

Ralliart has a long track record of success in rallying and off-road raids as well as high-performance vehicle modification, although it hasn't been exploited at a global level since 2010.

The Australian-developed Ford Ranger Raptor was unveiled in Thailand last month, complete with Fox off-road suspension and a new 157kW/500Nm bi-turbo 2.0-litre diesel engine mated to a 10-speed auto.

It is the second 'one-tonne' off-road racing replica pick-up to be unveiled, following on from North America's Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, which has the choice of petrol and turbo-diesel engines and employs a Multimatic suspension system.

Separately, Toyota has also revealed three dress-up versions of the top-spec HiLux SR5 — the Rogue, Rugged and Rugged X — which fall into the "higher-performance-looking" category Mann referred to, as they amp up the aggressive styling but make no changes to engine or chassis.

With the Triton range topping out at $48,000 for the 4x4 Exceed dual-cab (pictured), there is certainly room for the range to grow.

Mann's admission follows only weeks after Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance light commercial vehicle chief Ashwani Gupta told media during a visit to Australia that a Nissan Navara Raptor rival would be studied.

As the next Navara, Triton and Renault Alaskan — and possibly the second-generation Mercedes-Benz X-Class — will share their core ladder frame underpinnings and drivetrains, the chances of a Triton Raptor rival would obviously dovetail with that.

However, Mann stressed that Mitsubishi intends to ensure the next Triton is clearly separated from its fellow alliance members even if they share common technical underpinnings.

That could well mean a high-performance Triton gets the go-ahead whatever the decision by Nissan or Renault.

Mercedes-Benz, so far, has stoically insisted it will not do an AMG X-Class. Mind you, its 190kW/550Nm V6 model will suffice pretty well when it arrives here mid-year. Four-cylinder X-Class models arrive here in April.

"What is most important is we keep the Mitsubishi-ness in our vehicles," said Mann.

"Triton is a special offering in our opinion -- it's quite a unique offering and we will want to make sure we carry over the best bits of Triton and improve the bits that require to be improved.

"We would potentially converge on drivetrain [with other alliance members], but how you tune the drivetrain to the car and how you tune the suspension, how you get the feel of a Mitsubishi versus another product; we would keep that's separate.

"The most important thing for the alliance is we treat it as an enabler so we can do what we would want to do anyway, not to dictate what we do as a brand," said Mann.

"So, it's important we keep Mitsubishi Mitsubishi and we use the alliance to support keeping Mitsubishi Mitsubishi, by helping us reduce the cost of new models, helping us reduce the cost of compliance, be it from a crash performance or an environmental performance perspective."