Driving Sports

Mitsubishi and its motorsports subsidiary MMSP will enter four of the new turbodiesel Racing Lancer (FIA Group T1 Super Production Class) for Dakar 2009 (Jan 3rd– Jan 18th, 2009) in South America. Due to ongoing safety concerns regarding the original route, the Middle East, the all new rally now starts in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The competitors will cross through the Andes Mountains, enter Chile, then head north to cross through Atacama Desert. Finally, the route takes them the host town of WRC Argentina, Cordoba, and then across the finish in Buenos Aires. It’s only 5949 miles of chassis-destroying terrain. What a way to spend a week!

Four of these hot new Racing Lancers will be driven by a clutch of experienced drivers: Japanese veteran Hiroshi Masuoka, Stephane Peterhansel and Luc Alphand from France, and a Spanish biker champion, Joan "Nani" Roma. 

To make the kind of power necessary for a trek like this the dieselburner features a two-stage turbocharger which makes use of both small and large turbines, depending on motor speed and load. In addition, the team's partner Valeo contributed to the development of a particularly efficient cooling system to cope with the hot climates frequently encountered in cross-country rallying. The 3.0-liter V6 powerplant delivers maximum power of more than 280ps (206kW) and peak torque of 66.3kgm (650Nm). The new car's more aerodynamic body styling is derived from that of the production-model Lancer Sportback in order to cope with the increasing speeds of cross-country rally events. Sorry, kids, you can't buy a replica of this one from your local Mitsubishi dealer. Thought, the street-going Ralliart actually looks kind of hot in its own right.

Other differences compared to the previous Dakar rig include reduced weight thanks to a new, fully-integrated multi-tubular steel frame, and a lowered positioning of the fuel tank for a lower overall center of gravity. Handling has been improved by the reduced moment of inertia resulting from the revised location for the spare wheels, as well as by significant modifications to the suspension geometry. Performance on rough terrain has been improved, thanks to BOS dampers which can be adjusted through a wider range of settings. (We have no idea what any of that means. But it looked good on the press release, so we included it for your reading pleasure.)

The Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart-run Racing Lancer is equipped with Valeo-developed lighting and Brembo brakes with 16-inch ventilated discs with six-piston calipers all around. Mitsubishi's new cross-country devil car sits on 7JJx16 OZ aluminum alloy wheels and BFGoodrich low rolling resistance competition tires (245/80-16).

We can't wait to see this car in action. For now, we only have this teaser clip to enjoy. But nothing is quite like the actual Dakar action.