The Pajero nameplate derives from Leopardus pajeros , the Pampas cat. The Pajero is one of four models by Mitsubishi the others being the Triton, Pajero Sport and the Pajero iO that share Mitsubishi's heavy-duty, off-road-oriented Super-Select four-wheel-drive system as opposed to their light-duty Mitsubishi S-AWC all-wheel-drive system.
The Pajero has generated more than 3. First generation Pajero, launched in , was selected as a Historic Car by the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame for its contributions to Japanese automotive history in November, Mitsubishi presented the first Pajero prototype at the Tokyo Motor Show in November [ 13 ] then Pajero II prototype followed in , five years later.
A Mitsubishi Pajero, driven by Andrew Cowan, finished the ParisβAlgerβDakar as the winner in class, with another teammate George Debussy coming second in class and 14th overall after covering more than 11, km, beginning the Pajero's Dakar Rally legacy. Mitsubishi competed primarily in the Modified Production Class T2 category though Mitsubishi also ran in the Super-Production category Highly modified production vehicles with engine tuning and chassis modifications allowed , as well as the T3 category which were fully-custom non-production vehicles referred to as 'prototypes' by Dakar class criteria.
Contrary to popular belief, T2 vehicles are almost identical to those sold to the public. According to the latest criteria, T2 class vehicles must be production models and modifications follow a highly regulated and primarily safety-oriented preparation to ensure they do not deviate from the road-going versions too significantly. As such, modifications primarily only include roll cages, bucket seats, harnesses, navigation equipment and extended fuel tanks. Mitsubishi dominated with multiple first, second and third place podium finishes across the T2 and T3 categories beginning in until their final wins in Their overall record was 12 total overall wins 1st place in the "Cars Class" and stage wins the second best being Peugeot with only 78 stage wins in comparison.
Given their competition in the T2 class, vehicles were required by entry regulations to be almost identical to road-going versions, using the same chassis and engine. Adding independent rear suspension to the Generation 2 design - something not found on road versions this formed the basis of their later Generation 3 and 4 suspensions as well as a modified 6G74 engine, this new revision resulted in immense performance advantages.
