2023 Mitsubishi Outlander Ralliart gearing up to battle Hyundai Tucson N Line, Mazda CX-5 Turbo and Ford Escape ST-Line, with more details revealed by global engineer chief

Mitsubishi’s revival of its Ralliart high-performance line-up continues to take shape with a senior global executive spilling more details of the Outlander Ralliart SUV that will go on sale in Australia.

Speaking at the launch of the Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicle recently, Mitsubishi's global segment chief engineer Kentaro Honda dismissed rumours of a Pajero Ralliart coming Down Under but revealed that the Outlander mid-sized SUV would indeed get the famous Ralliart treatment.

“I don’t know about Pajero, but I’m sure we will develop the Ralliart for Outlander,” Mr Honda said. 

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“It'll be lower, with less ground clearance and wider tyres. But not just cosmetics - the power and grunt should be improved.”

The news that the Outlander Ralliart will be more than just a sticker pack will be welcomed by Aussie enthusiasts.

In November 2021, Ralliart versions of the Pajero Sport SUV and Triton ute made their debut at the Bangkok Motor Show before going on sale in Thailand. 

While both vehicles looked ready to compete at the Dakar Rally, they were really just well-dressed special editions wearing sporty decals.

The Outlander Ralliart is expected to offer far more than just racing stripes, however, and we’ve been told by none other than Mitsubishi Australia’s CEO that if we want to get an idea of what’s to come then we should look at Outlander Vision Ralliart Concept which was unveiled at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon.

The Vision Concept took the Outlander and gave it a tough, intimidating look with pumped-up wheel arches and giant brakes.

The mystery at this stage is what powertrain the actual Outlander Ralliart will use, with rumours swirling that a beefed up plug-in hybrid system could provide the extra grunt Mr Honda referred to.

The new standard Outlander PHEV already produces an impressive 185kW and 450Nm from combination of two electric motors and a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. A motor on each axle means the Outlander PHEV is all-wheel drive and retains the same 1600kg braked towing capacity of the petrol variant of the Outlander. 

The Ralliart brand was retired in Australia with the 10th-generation Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. It’s clear now, however, that in seeing the success of Hyundai’s high-performance N Division with cult models such as the i30 N, Mitsubishi now sees its chance to do the same with its own range.

The problem might be that Mitsubishi’s line-up in Australia doesn’t include anything that could rival an i30 N or i20 N, with only SUVs and utes left it range. 

A high-performance ute would almost certainly be a hit. A Triton Ralliart with a higher output turbo-diesel and equipped with rally-ready looking gear could go head to head with Ford’s Ranger Raptor. 

The new-generation Triton will have its Australian launch in the near future, with Mitsubishi recently revealing to CarsGuide that the off-road ute could even be offered with a hybrid powertrain. 

The new Triton will share much of the same engineering as the next Nissan Navara, thanks to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.