A JDM TRUCK WITH RACING HERITAGE AND ROOM TO GROW.

In these “Future Classics” articles, we’ve talked about modern Japanese classics and vintage trucks/SUVs as two of the most active segments of the collector car market. But we’ve never talked about a vehicle that ticks both of those boxes. Enter the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, a nifty ‘90s rally racer for the road that’s a little bit obscure and already a little bit expensive. But with the performance, technology, and motorsports bona fides of many of today’s priciest Japanese collector cars, it still has room to grow.

Known stateside as the Montero, the Mitsubishi Pajero is one of the most popular big SUVs worldwide, with over 3 million sold over 40 years of production. The Pajero Evolution, or “Evo” for short, is no ordinary grocery-getter, and it has little in common with the pedestrian versions. Hopped-up Pajeros were the most successful vehicles in one of the most intense motorsport events ever—the Paris-Dakar Rally. A perilous and sometimes-lethal rally, the event started in France and put cars, trucks, and motorcycles through thousands of punishing miles of rocks, boulders, dunes, and rivers throughout North and West Africa. Pajeros won the Dakar 12 times, took 41 podium finishes, and swept the podium five times. No other manufacturer has come close. Pajeros had been winning since the 1980s, but event rules in the late 1990s dictated Mitsubishi build a roadgoing version of its Dakar racers to homologate them.

Dubbed the Pajero Evolution, the road-going version has the usual beefed-up, fender-flared looks of a homologation special, covering a full independent suspension and a 3.5-liter V6 putting a reported 276 hp and 257 lb-ft of torque through a five-speed manual and triple differentials. Mudflaps, Recaro seats, and decals only add to the raciness. While Pajeros won the Dakar in 1997 and finished 1-2-3-4 in 1998, Mitsubishi sold around 2,500 road-going Evos from 1997-99 to lucky buyers, none of whom were in the United States. Thanks to our 25year import rule, however, Pajero Evos became eligible to import last year, and a few have trickled into this country. A handful have already sold publicly, all in the $40,000 - $50,000 range, with one high-mile Evo selling for just $35K. Not chump change, but consider all the other rally homologation specials from Lancia, Audi, Peugeot, and Ford that all regularly sell for six figures, not to mention the Nissan Skylines from that era that also bring significantly more money. Also consider that vintage trucks and SUVs have been one of the most active and fastest-growing segments of the classic car market for years.

A few things may be keeping the Pajero Evolution back. In this country, it’s a bit obscure. It’s only recently available for import, and just a few have sold. This means the market is still figuring out the model’s status. Plus, it wears a Mitsubishi badge, and Mitsubishi hasn’t sold anything exciting in America for years. It never sold a sporty SUV here, nothing called a “Pajero,” and Mitsubishi hasn’t cultivated the off-road fanbase of manufacturers like Toyota.

That said, it’s a tempting value in speed, rarity, raciness, history, and cool-factor that can’t possibly stay a secret forever.