Whether the Pajero Sport-succeeding model will revive the Pajero nameplate is still unconfirmed, but Mitsubishi promises it to be a capable off-roader.
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Mitsubishi is promising its Pajero Sport successor – expected to revive the iconic Pajero nameplate – will be worthy of sitting atop the brand’s off-road SUV tree, according to the Japanese brand.
Speaking to Drive, Mitsubishi Australia General Manager of Product Strategy Bruce Hampel confirmed the timeline of the new model, but would be drawn on what the new large SUV will be called.
“We will have a new flagship large SUV at the end of next year,” Hampel said. “We haven’t announced the naming yet.
“The Pajero has a very strong heritage in Australia and within Mitsubishi globally, so it’s very coveted.
“If it does come back, it needs to be the right product that is demanding of that brand.
“We’ll have more to say on that probably within the next six months as it gets closer to launch.”
The Mitsubishi Pajero – or Montero in some overseas markets, and Shogun in the UK – first arrived in 1982 before being succeeded by a second-generation in 1991.
The first two iterations of the Pajero were ladder-frame chassis large SUVs before the third- and fourth-generation models moved to a monocoque design, while retaining its rugged, off-road capability and boosting on-road refinement.
When asked by Drive if a possible new Pajero needed monocoque or ladder-frame underpinnings, Hampel said either would work.
“The market’s demonstrated you can meet that [off-road capability] both ways,” Hampel said.
“The challenge is what is the most efficient way, in terms of investment efficiency, to deliver the customer needs – through monocoque or body-on-frame.”
The “most efficient way” would be to make use of the Triton’s ladder-frame chassis to build the new SUV, similar to the route Mitsubishi took since 1996 with both generations of Challenger and the Pajero Sport they evolved into.
Regardless, Hampel highlighted any model worthy of wearing the Pajero nameplate would need to deliver on a number of key attributes.
“It [Pajero] has got all that Mitsubishi Australia DNA – it’s adventurous, it’s capable, it’s high quality, it’s durable – it lives up to all of that,” Hampel said.
“The Pajero really earned that reputation over a long period of time in Australia.
“The fact that it was a monocoque as well, was another key differentiator that people initially struggled with, but then learned to embrace, and now copy.
“It needs to meet those attributes, but what the architecture will be, we’re not in a position to announce just yet.
“But it needs to meet those attributes of being powerful off-road, yet still being a quality, refined, comfortable experience to earn that name.”
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Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
