Tommi Mäkinen in a red Lancer Evolution VI. Jackie Chan in a black Starion HKS Turbo. Paul Walker in a green Eclipse—with NOS. Mitsubishi performance isn't just part of motorsports history, it's part of our shared car culture. And now we get, what, a bunch of milquetoast crossover concepts? And one of them dares to call itself an Evolution?

It's enough to make you storm the diamond star's zaibatsu headquarters, drag the automotive product-planning team from the 40th floor and beat them with an Outlander-branded golf umbrella. But before you do, know that this isn't the first time Mitsubishi's done a crossover Evo.

Say hello to the homologation special you probably never heard of: The Pajero Evolution. A stunted, runty bulldog of a thing, it's got box-flares, a hood scoop, skid plates, and integrated high-output fog lights. It's got rear winglets like Batman's head, knobby tires, and the wheelbase of a Willys Jeep. It looks like somebody described a Defender 90 over the phone to the animators of Mobile Suit Gundam, and it's absolutely wonderful.

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The Pajero Evolution looks built to headbutt difficult off-road conditions right in the face, because it was. In the US, the Pajero was sold as the Montero ("pajero" being a rude euphemism in Spanish), and in European markets as the Shogun. The Evolution took a short wheelbase version, ditched the live rear axle for fully independent suspension, added front and rear Torsen limited slip differentials, and widened the track by more than four inches. It also featured unique long-travel suspension, and a heavily reinforced frame.



To deal with all the added beef—more than 4300lbs—the Pajero Evo got a 3.5-liter V6 which produced 276 hp at 6500 rpm and 256 lb-ft of torque at 3000 rpm. As it was made during the era of the Japanese manufacturers' “gentleman's agreement,” when even special-edition R32 Skyline GT-Rs magically never made more than the maximum 276 horsepower allowed, the Pajero Evo's power levels may be somewhat understated. Zero to 60 acceleration is estimated by most owners to be a little under eight seconds—not WRX territory, but not far off a then-new Volkswagen GTI VR6.

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This one is chassis number 2023, out of a total production run of 2500. It is nicely filthy, which seems fitting. The owner, David Williams, uses it for rallying, both in time-speed-distance (TSD) events and for checkpoint support.

“It sails right through the stages that break the Subarus,” he reports.

Well, it would. The Pajero Evo's wasn't made to handle little things like rutted forest roads and snow: It was intended to put up with the brutality of Dakar desert racing. Right out of the gate, it dominated the race, giving Mitsubishi back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998. In a move reminiscent of the Le Mans efforts of the Porsche 935 and the McLaren F1 GTR, the production-class Pajero Evo was so overbuilt, it beat out the prototype racers.

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Williams' example is equipped with an automatic transmission, which is what the Mitsubishi factory rally team campaigned. A few manual-transmission vehicles are known to exist, but are both a little less reliable and not quite as good for low speed crawling. Either way, the manual-shift mode of the automatic isn't dumbed down, and will let you bounce the revvy V6 off the limiter all day long.

Sliding behind the wheel into the right-hand driver's seat, factory-spec Recaros feature adjustable bolstering and have the kind of lateral support you'd expect in a sportscar. The instrumentation is pure 1990s-Japanese, with neat features like a round digital compass and a display to show which differentials are engaged.

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The overall effect is again like a Defender or an early two-door Mercedes-Benz G-class, but far less agricultural. The V6 is smooth at highway speeds, and has solid top-end power, with a noticeable punch as the variable valve timing kicks over. The ride's pretty civil as well.



But where the Pajero Evo really shines is in the way it surfs right over frozen potholes at speed, feeling simultaneously comfortable and indestructible. You could storm the same terrain with a pickup truck or a Forester XT, but the former punishes the driver's spine, while the latter will eventually start breaking parts.

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The Pajero Evo exists in a weird grey area, being about as uncompromising as the business end of a mace, but also oddly civilized. Add in the ability to lock the center differential at a 50/50 split at speed and let the front and rear Torsens feed power to the ground, and it's a beast on forest service roads.

Williams, who also owns a 1990 Corvette ZR1 that he autocrosses, would eventually like more power. Parts-sharing with the 3000GT VR-4 and Dodge Stealth means that a low-pressure turbocharged setup would be relatively straightforward, adding some much-needed mid-range punch. The Pajero was built for full-tilt desert-running, so climbing gravelly hills after slowing for sharp corners can slow its inexorable progress.

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For now, nothing's broken, and the Pajero continues to hold up to the kind of abuse it was designed for. Williams has been rallying his Pajero since 2015, and is already lining things up for the Totem Rally, a 500-mile TSD event held in February. The snow-covered roads of BC's interior are miles from the baking desert sands the Pajero Evo was made to conquer, but the spirit is the same: Take on any terrain, and crush it.



It'll be a shame if Mitsubishi can't find its way back to all-or-nothing efforts like this square-jawed little SUV. Back to the hard-fought podiums of the WRC, back to championships won among the desert dunes.

With the Nissan-Renault partnership virtually guaranteeing that most future Mitsubishis will rely on shared platforms, vehicles like the Pajero Evo are a reminder of why we once loved the diamond star. We're not mad at you Mitsubishi, not even for the Eclipse crossover. Just come back.

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