A Dakar Icon, Revisited
The Dakar Rally is as tough as motorsport gets. It throws everything at a vehicle – deserts, mountains, rocks, and jungle. Back in 1985, the event stretched over 22 days and 6,390 miles, with 4,650 miles of that spent racing the clock in special stages. The route even forced teams to cross the Ténéré Desert twice, just to prove a point.
Out of 362 starters, Mitsubishi’s Pajero took the win – its first overall Dakar victory. Called the Montero or Shogun elsewhere, the Pajero built its reputation on results like this. That 1985 win kicked off a run that would see Mitsubishi rack up 12 Dakar wins, including seven in a row.
Now, forty years later, Mitsubishi has gone back to the original Pajero prototype that started it all. Instead of just cleaning it up for a museum, the team set out to get the Dakar winner running again – just as it was when it finished the rally.
Bringing a Champion Back to Life
After the 1985 rally, Mitsubishi shipped the Pajero prototype back to its R&D center in Okazaki, Japan. It sat there for years, battered from Dakar and untouched. According to Mitsubishi, the idea of getting it running again felt out of reach for a long time.
That changed this year or 40 years after the win. Mitsubishi’s motorsport engineers – including veterans from both WRC and Dakar – took charge of the restoration. They stripped the Pajero down to the last bolt, checking every part for wear, damage, or anything that might have given up after decades in storage.
They fixed what needed fixing, but kept things original wherever possible. The engine got a full overhaul, but no major parts were swapped out. It took a few tries, but they got it running again. Suspension, cooling, and electrics were brought back to working order, while the chassis, body, seats, and dash stayed as they were.
But perhaps the best thing about this restoration is that Mitsubishi left the scratches and dents from Dakar untouched, so the Pajero still looks exactly like it did at the finish line.
Mitsubishi
Looking Forward by Looking Back
We believe that this restoration isn’t just about looking back. As we all know, Mitsubishi has been reconnecting with its motorsport roots through Ralliart, and the timing isn’t a coincidence. There’s already talk of a new flagship SUV, and it looks like the Pajero name could be coming back – sooner rather than later.
Restoring the original Dakar winner is Mitsubishi’s way of reminding everyone what the Pajero stood for. It also hints at what a new Pajero could be.
Mitsubishi
