Autoblog

Click photo for a gallery of the Mitsubishi Delica D:5 ROADEST

Friends, Mitsubishi Japan has given us a new adjective, and we love it. More on that in a minute. The automaker expanded its JDM Delica D:5 range by adding a 2WD variant of the 7-passenger minivan, which until now was only available with power driving all four wheels. (The 4WD Delica D:5 was one of the support vehicles for Mitsubishi's Dakar effort.)

The regular 2WD D:5 has been dubbed the C2, and it's easily differentiated from its 4WD sibling by its monochrome paint scheme and lower ride height. Not content to just have the C2, Mitsu added a fully tricked version called the ROADEST. And really, it's definitely the roadest minivan we've ever laid eyes on, with its fly 17" wheels, exclusive grille, full ground effects, and perfectly and bizarrely Japanese "ROAR Complete" badging. There's a market in Japan for models like this -- Nissan does it too, with Autech Rider versions of just about everything it sells.

We can't help it. We love this. ROADEST, indeed!

[Source: Mitsubishi]



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Mitsubishi's Dakar team ready to go

The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Dakar rally team has completed its shakedown sessions and is ready to advance to the pre-race scrutineering and documentation on January 4-5. The race itself kicks off from Lisbon on January 6, and will mark the competition debut of the new Mitsubishi MPR13 rally cars, which are based on the newly-restyled Pajero SUV.

While we love the look of the new gull-winged Pajero rally raider, we're just as enthused to see the first action photos of the team's support car, a rally-prepped Mitsubishi Delica D:5 minivan. We count the Delica D:5 as one of our favorite JDM Vehicles That We Can't Have, and seeing the blocky van in full Repsol/Ralliart livery brings a smile to our faces. The Dakar Rally is a great event and involves a wide variety of vehicles, from bikes to pickups to SUVs to...well...Unimogs. Throw in the new Mitsu minivan and you have a veritable Star Wars cantina of race and support vehicles.

That's a good thing, and we'll try to follow Dakar '07 as closely as possible. (That pesky NAIAS is gonna get in the way for the first few days, though...)

Click here for a gallery of the Repsol/Ralliart Pajero and Delica.

[Source: Ralliart]

Mitsubishi has announced that its new Delica D:5 minivan will serve as a support vehicle for the automaker's factory Dakar effort, which will feature another new product, the restyled 2-door Pajero, in the starring role. The stylish new Delica -- a Japan-only model, unfortunately -- was revealed by Mitsubishi at the end of last month. The consumer version receives power from its 2.4-liter engine, channeled through an AWD system. The Delica's role in the Dakar rally will undoubtedly help the people mover bolster its modest soft-roading pretensions with its home-market customers.

The actual Dakar Delica will be suitably modified to handle the 8,000 KM trek. Naturally, safety equipment such as a roll cage and proper bucket seats will be fitted, and the van's mechanicals will be fortified to survive the punishment it's likely to face as it bounces across the desert. The standard suspension will be reinforced and see rally-spec shocks and springs added. The same goes for the wheels and tires, obviously, and the van's fuel tank will get added capacity to help minimize the risk of running out of fuel during the rally's extensive driving days.

We're looking forward to seeing how the D:5 looks in full racing livery, a preview of which you see above. If Mitsubishi's confident it can complete the event, that's enough for us. They've been at this for a while now, so they know what they're doing and how to prepare a vehicle for the event.

[Source: Carview]

Click image for a gallery of the Mitsubishi Delica D:5

Mitsubishi has released the first photo and initial details of its upcoming Delica D:5 minivan for the Japanese market. The D:5 -- so named because this is the fifth generation of the vehicle -- is the last of three planned new products for FY 2006, the other two being the new eK Wagon and Pajero. The Delica is a traditional minivan with seating for eight and a clean, boxy appearance that's easy on the eyes. The "skid plate" look up front and black lower body cladding are tip-offs that the Delica D:5 is also designed to handle some soft-roading, thanks to the AWD system the van's 2.4L MIVEC engine is connected to. It arrives in early 2007, and we'll bring you more details when Mitsubishi officially launches it.

One final observation: you know it's a JDM model when the press release states that the Delica was designed to "fuse the comfort of a minivan with the powerful performance of an SUV" without having the word "crossover" appear anywhere in the statement. Can you imagine the tortured verbiage we'd have to sift through if a North American PR-type had to present this vehicle to us?

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Mitsubishi Motors]