**A Legendary Vehicle: Kendo's Pajero Evo**

Kendo, a national hero and Japanese driver at 48 years old, has been on a wait for years to win the DAR event. And what an event it was! The excitement was palpable as Kendo secured a 1-2-3-4 finish, an absolute triumph for the company.

But there's another vehicle that's just as impressive - the homologation Pajero Evo for sale to the public. This truck is not just any ordinary truck; it's technically the Evolution, built with a short wheelbase and front suspension carried over from the Prototype. The width of this truck is almost 5 inches more than the stock body, making it necessary due to the hot desert climate.

The wide body scoops breathe cool air into the engine, while the vents expel hot air from the engine bay in the back. This design ensures optimal cooling and performance. The rear suspension is bespoke to the Evo, with Mitsubishi calling it the "All Road Multi-Link Independent Suspension" for short. This provides 10.5 inches of travel, perfect for handling rough terrain.

Underneath the car, aluminum skid plates protect the precious running gear from rocks and other desert hazards. The Super Select system is similar to the normal Pajero, but with limited-slip differentials in the front, back, and center. This provides better traction on loose surfaces and makes it easier to control the vehicle during off-road excursions.

The Evo is powered by a 3.5L 6G74 V6 engine, producing 276 horsepower. However, with a curb weight of 4,300 pounds and a 0-60 mph time of around 7.6 seconds, the real number G-force is likely to be higher due to its incredible acceleration.

Mitsubishi's Innovative Valve Timing Electronic Control System plays a critical role in achieving this impressive performance. The variable valve timing technology ensures that the valves are hollow and carry less inertia at high RPMs, while titanium valve guides ensure reliability in harsh conditions.

Temperature management was also a top concern, with a 13-stage oil cooler keeping the lubrication system at optimal levels. This attention to detail is evident throughout the Evo's design and construction.

Kendo, who has been waiting for this moment for years, was blown away by the Pajero Evo. He described it as "awesome" and praised its unique character, including the distinctive winglets on the back. If you're interested in purchasing a homologation Pajero Evo, be prepared to act fast, as only 2,500 units were built, with a few extra for racing purposes.

The Evo's capabilities are undeniable, making it perfect for off-road enthusiasts who want to push their vehicle to its limits. Whether driving on the track or through the desert, this car is meant to be experienced in its natural habitat.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIron Man shooka when you think of Mitsubishi and racing you probably think about the Lancer Evo now what if I told you that in mid90s Japan Mitsubishi wasn't known for the Lancer but for a boxy SUV that proved the company had what it took to win the most dangerous rally in the world this is the pagero evolution and today we're going to drive it how it was meant to be driven you might think you know the story of the Pajero but you don't welcome to Donut I'm white knuckling right now oh I love it all right before we get into this thing we got to shout out Mark at Randolph motorwork for letting us borrow the car and drive it really hard uh I can't believe someone's going to let us do this so Jimmy this is the pagero evolution or as it's referred to in Japan I did not know this the pivo I like it I like this thing is so cool it looks like a race car it's got all these vents cool fog lights in the bumper skid plate that's a a real aluminum skid plate right there and this is all Factory too yeah this is this it came from the factory like this dude little mirror right there that's so cool to help you parallel park this thing you can see the little MMC mitubishi Motor Company Japan you got tight streets you got very tight streets vents to help evacuate Heat fresh air comes in through this hood scoop here evacuates out here keeps it nice and cool before they built this they had a lot of experience already racing in the Paris to Car Rally uh they they knew what it took to have a truck survive those very harsh conditions we'll get into that a little later as well it's got winglets it looks like it's wearing those cat headphones that streamers do you know like it needs some uh pink and blue LEDs and it's gaming chair let's look inside and see if the interior matches the per performance of the exterior it's a little high up to get into it looking around though this is very 9s Japanese SUV we got some cool gauges up here oil pressure battery a compass looks like you got your four-wheel drive selector down here this car isn't automatic a lot of desert racing is done with automatics like I mean our Rangers automatic a lot of Baja trucks you see out there are still automatic I think the long and short of it is this thing is very utilitarian also it has a lot of practical use out in the desert so can can we drive it uh yeah dude this is so sick I feel like every bump we hit we're just able to like spring back up like nothing happened the normal Pajero had a solid rear axle in the rear for this truck they put independent suspension in the back watch this I mean it's just tearing up the sand and again thank you to Mark Randol motorwork thank you so much for letting us drive it like this let me drive Jimmy Drive dude you got to drive me drive okay here we go Jimmy you ready yeah oh now you've been training to do a lot of off-roading for a while oh god oh jeez that Ranger's giving you a lot of confidence oh God who oh my God yeah this thing's great my first impressions I love this thing yeah I I can see Full Throttle Jimmy Full Throttle Full Throttle oh man oh I love this car Jimmy oh this thing is this thing's awesome this thing is awesome now you might expect the story of the pajera evolution to be a one of a teen building exercise where the entire company bands together to chase Victory achieve departmental synergy and maybe build some shareholder value along the way and while there are flashes of that here the story of the pivo is really the story of KIRO shizuka thanks to slime for sponsoring today's video I promise I promise I will not be late what was that noise nothing nothing what do you mean nothing roadside helps at 5 hours nothing I can do hold please please please please a don't get upset everything's fine because I have slime all I got to do is connect the smart spare Ultra to the tire valve stem power it up with a 12volt outlet turn on the car turn on the Slime and I'm back on the road in no time this is taking forever nope the smart spare Ultra fully repairs the tire in just 10 minutes music to my ears how much longer done I told you I wasn't going to be late I'll see you soon when you've got the smart spare Ultra from slime you'll never lose time to learn more click the link below kendro shizuka joined Mitsubishi in 1971 at 23 years old working as a Salesman and a mechanic but his real passion was rally racing during the week Kendo earned his salary working for Mitsubishi but on the weekends he pushed the limits as part of Mitsubishi's rally team Mitsubishi's Iron Man kenjiro shanuka he normally works behind a desk in the Mitsubishi marketing department he's without doubt the most experienced Japanese rally driver and he's made an impressive Parry dhar debut last year and to be fair he does have a strong record of winning things thank you very much uh I'm very very happy uh because I first time win the world championship event I keep cool and also keep the good speed very important thing in his first two years of racing for Mitsubishi Ken won the all Japan Rally Championship but nobody in Japan really cared according to the man himself at the time Japan had yet to develop a taste for the sport most kids wanted to grow up to be baseball players like sadu Haru o or sumo wrestlers like K naumi toshimitsu regardless Kira's early success behind the wheel would pay dividends decades later when Mitsubishi decided to take their new SUV desert racing which brings us back to this handsome guy here in the US Mitsubishi is known for their cars like the Lancer and the Eclipse Mitsubishi Motors really got the automotive start building Jeeps after World War II with their strong reputation for Reliable four-wheel drive systems through the 80s Bishi actually took their first generation pajera to the treacherous parastic Car Rally scoring several class wins and top five overall finishes but never with a Japanese driver taking the overall win in the interest of national Pride Mitsubishi wanted to change that in 1991 Mitsubishi unveiled the second generation pagro which quickly became a bestseller number one one reason for that was the new pajo's super select four-wheel drive system customers Lov this new feature that allowed the truck to be shifted from two wheel drive to four-wheel drive while the truck was still in motion and unlike other 4x4 systems you could use four whe drive all the time like with an all-wheel drive car these days full-time four-wheel drive is a pretty common feature proving that Mitsubishi was decades ahead of the curve so with a dedicated fan base back home it was time for Mitsubishi to show the world what their new system was capable of but the question was how do you turn an SUV that families take to the slopes on the weekend into an animal that eats up the deserts of Northern Africa Mitsubishi had already achieved the car class and overall wins but in 1997 a new rule changed everything for the previous 20 years TC prototypes ruled the car they were fast expensive and not available to the general public technically all of Mitsubishi's previous wins were all with Pajero prototypes the FIA wanted to give private teams a better shot against the manufacturers whose budgets were pretty much infinite so in 1997 manufacturers wouldn't be allowed to enter prototypes and instead were forced to build what are called t T2 cars basically they had to build a car that regular people could actually buy put a roll cage in them and see if they could win that way can we switch now fine doesn't look like that much dirt the Mitsubishi team led by Kira shizuka took everything they learned with the prototypes and applied it to a Pajero production truck the weight of a Nation rested on kera's shoulders as he traveled to the car for the race start would 97 finally be the year he did it it wouldn't be easy as the formidable Slusher T3 buggy was much lighter and much faster than the Pajero on the Straits but finally 14 years years after Mitsubishi's first darar entry kenjiro shizuka became the first Japanese driver to take the overall win at darar behind the wheel of the pagero t2 achieving his lifelong dream and making him a national hero and there joins KERO shizuka the Japanese driver 48 years old and what an event it has been for the Japanese because I wait years I wait long time to the win so now super feeling m Bishi also secured a 1 2 3 4 finish an absolute Triumph for the company but that truck is not this truck technically this truck right here is the homologation pajera evolution for sale to the public the pad EO is based on a short wheel-based truck the front suspension is carried over from the Prototype with 9 1/2 in of up and down travel since the truck is almost 5 in wider than the stock body the wide body was absolutely necessary deserts are hot places and these Scoops breathe cool air into the engine while these vents expel hot air from the engine bay in the back the rear suspension is bespoke to the evolution Mitsubishi called it the all Road multi-link independent suspension for Evo or Army for short and it provides 10 1/2 in of travel up here you'll notice the vertical winglets which are intended to reduce drag and increase high-s speeed stability it is a short wheelbase after all underneath the car the aluminum skid plates protect the precious running gear from Rock and Other Desert hazards the super select system is pretty similar to the normal pagro except for the limited slip differentials in the front back and Center power takes the path of least resistance so having these diffs means better traction on loose surfaces it also Mak sliding much easier to control under the hood the padvo is powered by the 3.5 L 6 g74 V6 engine cranking out the gentleman agreed upon 276 horsepower but with a curb weight of 4,300 lb and a 0 to 60 of 7.6 seconds the real number G Jimmy is probably more around 300 a critical Factor towards achieving that number is my vet mitubishi Innovative valve timing electronic control system Mitsubishi's variable valve timing technology the valves are Hollow and carry less inertia at the 6500 RPM Red Line while titanium valve guides ensure reliability in harsh conditions speaking of which temperature management was a top concern with a 13 stage oil cooler keeping the lubrication system at optimal levels I mean all in all this right here is the same truck that one the car minus the roll cage and racing seats and you could buy it from a dealership so long as he lived in Japan all right Jimmy at the top we said that this is a car you've wanted for a long time does it uh live up to your expectations I mean I've been blown away all day this thing is awesome yeah this this holds up this has so much character I mean the winglets on the back it's so unique if you want one Jimmy if this is sold you you better get moving they only Built 2500 pivo homologation cars there a few hundred extra just race car only they I don't think they were street legal all the cars were built at pajera manufacturing over there in sakaa that factory was like driver of the economy over there so sakra is named Pajero City W this is like a special car there's not a lot of them around but it's also it can back it up it's capable there are a few cars I've driven after you get out you're like this is special you know cars like Dodge Viper R34 R34 all the skyline GTRs this is where it's meant to be and I'm so glad that we were able to drive it in it natural habitat I don't want this drive to end the bajro Evo became an instant classic but somehow things only got better from there from 2001 to 2007 the team achieved an astounding seven consecutive darar victories cementing Mitsubishi's Legacy as the all-time desert racing great after his 1997 Victory Kendra raced five more times with Mitsubishi then did five more campaigns with Nissan marking 22 consecutive trips to DAR car Kendo had plans to make one more trip to the car in his first Pajero Evo unfortunately it would not come to pass so I think it's only fitting that before we leave this desert we give the Piva one more rip let's do it this one's very you gjo right ready Jimmy