All new Triton – All new chassis (10 July 2023)
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) will use a newly developed ladder frame, chassis and clean diesel engine in the all-new Triton1 one-ton pickup truck to achieve safe, secure and comfortable driving for any weather or road conditions. A video of the all-new Triton undergoing development including road testing is released on a special website.
The launch of the all-new Triton, scheduled for Wednesday, July 26, at 10am local time in Bangkok, Thailand (12pm JST), will be livestreamed on the special website.
Special website for the all-new Triton:
https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/products/triton
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart announces team lineup for Asia Cross Country Rally 2023 (30 June 2023)
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) announced that Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, for which the company provides technical support, will be competing in the Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) scheduled for August of this year. As with last year, Mitsubishi Motors’ Hiroshi Masuoka will serve as team director, Chayapon Yotha (Thailand) the champion driver of AXCR 2022 and Rifat Sungkar (Indonesia) will be returning again this year, joined by new Japanese driver Katsuhiko Taguchi.
AXCR2023 Special website:
https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/innovation/motorsports/axcr2023/
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart claimed an overall victory last year in its first attempt at AXCR. This year, the following team drivers and co-drivers will attempt to claim a second consecutive win: defending champions Chayapon Yotha (Thailand) and Peerapong Sombutwong (Thailand), last year’s 5th place drivers Rifat Sungkar (Indonesia) and Chupong Chaiwan (Thailand), and Japanese duo Katsuhiko Taguchi and Takahiro Yasui.
They will be driving a total of three new Triton Group T1s (prototype cross-country vehicles). Team Mitsubishi Ralliart will have all the resources it needs to take on the AXCR challenge; TANT SPORT (Thailand), which owns the team, is joined by team director Hiroshi Masuoka, a former two-time consecutive Dakar Rally champion driver, and Mitsubishi Motors engineers will accompany the team to provide technical support.
From June 19 to June 23, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart conducted rigorous endurance tests of the Triton rally cars, envisioning actual rally conditions, on an off-road course near Khao Yai National Park, in the heart of Thailand. The all-new Triton rally car has been completely redesigned, including its body, frame, chassis, and engine, greatly increasing its competitive potential. The reliability and durability of the rally cars, primarily their bodies and engines, were confirmed by driving roughly 800km over the course of the five days endurance test, and adjustments were made in preparation for the actual competition.
“Based on the original strength of the all-new Triton, the handling performance, stability on rough roads, and ride comfort are further improved as a rally competition car. In addition, the turbocharger has been improved to increase engine response throughout the entire rally range from low to high rpm, resulting in a powerful rally car that can handle any road conditions.” said Hiroshi Masuoka, team director of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart. “We have conducted the endurance test with a harder course setting than the actual rally conditions, but the testing cars were able to drive through about 800 km each without any major initial troubles, confirming performance beyond our expectations and giving us a great confidence for our second consecutive championship.”
1. Profile of Team Mitsubishi RALLIART
Team Director: Hiroshi Masuoka (Mitsubishi Motors)
Team Principal: Chayut Yangpichit (Thailand: TANT SPORT)
Technical Director: Kopong Amatayakul (Thailand: TANT SPORT)
Technical Support (body, chassis): Noriyoshi Aiba (Mitsubishi Motors)
(engine): Takashi Shibayama (Mitsubishi Motors)
Drivers and co-drivers:
Chayapon Yotha
From: Udon Thani Province, Thailand
Born: August 16, 1987 (35)
Career: Champion driver of AXCR 2022, who led Team Mitsubishi Ralliart to overall victory in its first time competing in AXCR with his careful and precise driving. He has won numerous races since 2012, including the Thailand Super Series, and RAAT Thailand Endurance Championship International. In 2019, he took victories in the Thailand Super Series’ Supercar GTC.
Co-driver: Peerapong Sombutwong (Thailand)
Rifat Sungkar
From: Jakarta, Indonesia
Born: October 22, 1978 (44)
Career: One of Indonesia’s top drivers, he has won the Indonesian Sprint Rally Championship in 1997, been an Indonesian Rally Championship winner three years in a row up to 2002, and more. In 2012, he was named brand ambassador for PT Mitsubishi Motors Krama Yudha Sales Indonesia (MMKSI). In 2019 and 2021, he won overall victories at the Indonesian Sprint Rally Championship by the Mitsubishi Xpander.
Co-driver: Chupong Chaiwan (Thailand)
Katsuhiko Taguchi
From: Okayama, Japan
Born: February 7, 1972 (51)
Career: At age 18, he got into motor sports through dirt trials. When he was 20, he won his first All Japan Dirt Trial Championship, demonstrating his talents at an early age. As a member of Mitsubishi Motors Works Team, he began taking part in overseas rallies such as the World Rally Championship (WRC) from a young age. In 1999 and 2010, he won the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). In 2007, he won the Rally Japan in Group N.
Co-driver: Takahiro Yasui
2. Partner companies
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart participates in the AXCR 2023 with the support of the following partner companies (in alphabetical order).
| Company | Support |
| CARROSSER Co., Ltd. | Support for development and supply of CUSCO front and rear suspension, and front and rear LSD |
| ENDLESS PROJECT Co., Ltd. | Supply of ENDLESS brake calipers, rotors and pads |
| ENEOS Corporation | Supply of engine oil |
| Fortec Motorsport Ltd | Supply of racing coolant, brake fluid |
| HANKYU HANSHIN EXPRESS Co., Ltd. | Support for transportation of special rally parts to Thailand |
| HKS Co., Ltd. | Support for development of rally specification engine |
| PT PERTAMINA | Sponsor |
| The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. | Supply of GEOLANDAR M/T G003 (mud terrain tires for pickup trucks) |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine & Turbocharger, Ltd. | Supply of turbocharger |
| Work Co., Ltd. | Supply of competition wheels |
3. About AXCR2023
Asia Cross Country Rally 2023, now in its 28th year, will begin with a ceremonial start on Sunday, August 13, in Pattaya, one of Thailand’s top sightseeing locations. The rally begins in earnest on the following day, Monday the 14th, with vehicles racing east, roughly parallel with the Cambodian border, entering Laos on Thursday the 17th, and reaching the goal on Saturday the 19th. Over the course of the rally, drivers cover a total of roughly 2,000 km including over 1,000km of Special Stages. This year’s course also has a great deal of variety, including mountainous areas, thick forests, muddy roads, river crossings, and more. The difficult course is expected to put the road handling and durability of the rally cars to the test. This year, the event will be held in August the typical rainy season, and the muddy conditions are expected to be even more severe than last year.
Mitsubishi Motors to reveal the all-new Triton in Thailand on July 26 (20 June 2023)
Mitsubishi Motors will hold the world premiere of the fully redesigned Triton1 one-ton pickup truck in Thailand on July 26.
The Triton is Mitsubishi Motors’ global strategic model that has been well-received in the ASEAN region, Oceania, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and other markets for its durability, robustness and drivability, as well as comfort and ride quality required for private use.
The all-new Triton – the sixth generation of Mitsubishi Motors’ midsize pickup truck – is updated with a beefed-up body and a powerful, horizontally-themed styling. At the front, the combination of daytime running lights resembling the sharp gaze of a hawk and a set of three dimensional headlights below emphasizes the impressive presence and robustness of the new model.
“The all-new Triton has been completely reimagined under the design concept Beast Mode, or audacious and daring,” said Seiji Watanabe, division general manager of design, Mitsubishi Motors. “While expressing the toughness and powerfulness expected of a pickup truck, the all-new Triton combines agility with the brand’s robust design to create an imposing look. Tough and reliable, the all-new Triton will make customers want to go on any adventure. Please look forward to seeing it in full this July.”
A video that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the all-new Triton and a video message from the designer are now available on Mitsubishi Motors’ special website.
Special website for the all-new Triton:
https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/products/triton
Mitsubishi previews next-gen Triton with XRT Concept at Bangkok International Motor Show (21 March 2023)
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) will display the Mitsubishi XRT Concept – a concept car of the all-new Triton1 pickup truck planned for launch in fiscal year 20232 – at the 44th Bangkok International Motor Show 20233 to be held from March 21 to April 2.
The Triton is Mitsubishi Motors’ top-selling model manufactured at the Laemchabang Factory in Thailand and the company’s global strategic vehicle exported to about 150 countries around the world. With its first full redesign in approximately nine years, the all-new Triton will be the sixth generation of the brand’s midsize pickup truck. After the launch in Thailand in fiscal 2023, it will be released sequentially in the ASEAN region, Oceania and other global markets.
A concept car of the all-new Triton, the Mitsubishi XRT Concept is characterized by a fierce expression on the front and a robust hood that continues to the side with bold, horizontally-themed styling. Further, the concept car is fitted with front and rear over fenders as well as mud-terrain tyres, giving it the powerful drive to compete in grueling rallies and the dynamism to dash across the terrain. The body features a camouflage design inspired by lava rocks packed with condensed energy, and the sides have been adorned with a graphic of the 10-parallel line Ralliart brand icon that expresses Mitsubishi Motors’ passion for driving.
At the Asia Cross Country Rally 20234, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, which receives technical support from Mitsubishi Motors, plans to compete with a prototype cross-country model of the all-new Triton (Group T1 specifications) in its quest for a second straight victory. Hiroshi Masuoka, a two-time Dakar Rally champion driver in 2002 and 2003, will stay on as team director, and Mitsubishi Motors engineers will perform pre-testing and accompany the team to provide support at the rally. Mitsubishi Motors uses expertise gained from rallies as feedback in the development of its production vehicles, as it seeks to create vehicles with Mitsubishi Motors-ness, which deliver safe, comfortable driving enjoyment in any weather or road conditions.
”Fiscal 2023 is an important year for Mitsubishi Motors to accelerate our business in the ASEAN region, with the launch of a fully revamped Triton and an all-new compact SUV,” said Takao Kato, president and chief executive officer, Mitsubishi Motors. “The all-new Triton is going through final touch-ups in preparation for its release, as we have performed rigorous endurance tests around the world while also incorporating the know-how gained from rally activities. With the new vehicle launches as the centerpiece, we will continue our drive toward further growth. Please look forward to the future of Mitsubishi Motors.”
1. Triton is sold as L200 in some markets.
2. Fiscal 2023 is from April 2023 to March 2024.
3. March 21 is press day, and the show is open to the public from March 22 to April 2.
4. The Asia Cross Country Rally is the largest-scale cross-country rally event in the ASEAN region and has been held a total of 27 times thus far. This year, the competition is planning to cover a grueling course of over 2,000 total kilometers in mid-August, located primarily in Thailand and extending to neighboring Laos.
