Everything old is new again, from TV shows and music, and now automotive sub-brands too with Mitsubishi bringing Ralliart back from the dead.
The announcement was quietly made during the company’s 2020/21 financial year results presentation.
We don’t know, yet, when the first Ralliart products will appear or how much extra performance they will have.
The teaser image accompanying the announcement indicates the Triton Ralliart should be the first cab off the rank.
If the teaser is anything to go by, the Triton Ralliart will have a revised lower bumper with a larger intake, red highlights and prominent tow hooks.
The side steps have been replaced with sportier-looking sills, and the ute looks as though it’s riding on lowered suspension.
A set of stripes running up the rear doors and red mud flaps are other notable changes.
Mitsubishi will also offer Ralliart Parts, presumably aerodynamic add ons, sticker packs and, hopefully, performance upgrades for its vehicles.
Takao Kato, Mitsubishi Motors’ CEO, also told investors the automaker will be “re-entering motorsport events around the world”.
The revival of the Ralliart brand and re-entering motorsports is part of a push to add extra “Mitsubishi Motors-ness” to upcoming vehicles.
As previously announced, all future Mitsubishi product will be based on platforms shared with the wider Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
The first of these, the new Outlander, was revealed earlier this year, and shares a lot in common with the next-generation Nissan X-Trail.
While the Outlander was unveiled with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder, a plug-in hybrid model is in the works and is slated to arrive in Australia from the first quarter of 2022.
Coming in 2022 will be a new Triton ute. This will be followed in 2023 by the closely related Pajero Sport SUV.
2017 Xpander
As part of a plan to divvy up regions between the Alliance’s various automakers, Mitsubishi core focus is now Asia.
From 2023 onwards, the three-diamond brand will launch four “all-new” models for ASEAN, although it’s uncertain how many will available or suitable for Australia.
One model that’s very unlikely to ever appear here is the new Xpander. Available with both petrol and hybrid drivetrains, the new second-generation vehicle will look to improve the group’s performance in people mover-mad Indonesia.
