Sure, maybe not everyone will agree, but to me, it feels like Mitsubishi has become a pale shadow of its former off-road Pajero SUV and high-performance rally-inspired Lancer Evolution self. At least they could do the logical thing and throw a jab at the pickup truck sector in additional regions, such as North America.
The current 2023 model year models are nothing to write home about in the United States. They start with the $16,245 Mirage hatchback and $17,245 Mirage G4 sedan, followed by the Outlander Sport and Eclipse Cross at around $23k and $26k, respectively, and wrap off with the only exciting nameplate – Outlander, with or without PHEV. The good thing is that at least MSRPs do not start at more than $40k. But that is no consolation when other carmakers have as many or more nameplates in just one segment, not spread across the entire lineup.
At least they could have lured in more customers with a pickup truck, but the prototypes that were inadvertently spied on by local media last year in the United States ended up posing more questions than giving answers regarding the potential mixing and matching of the next generation Mitsubishi L200 (also known as Triton, among many other names like Rodeo, Colt, Storm, Magnum, or Strakar) with Stellantis DNA. Remember, Mitsubishi and Chrysler have had agreements to sell captive imports of the L200, such as the Dodge D50, Dodge Ram 50, and Plymouth Arrow trucks, in the past.
Even today, there are rebadged pickups sold as the Fiat Fullback or Ram 1200 across various regional markets. So, it would be nice to know that Mitsubishi was considering a return to form with the next iteration of their mid-size pickup truck ready to brawl with the likes of the D41 Nissan Frontier, all-new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, or the upcoming iterations of the 2024 Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger, among others. Still, that might not happen in the real world, where Stellantis has to protect its Jeep Gladiator interests.
Meanwhile, across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, anything is possible – including dreaming of the sixth generation L200 (or Triton) being an edgy Japanese pickup truck that America needs in the mid-size segment. Actually, this is neither the first nor the second time that Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has taken up the task of revealing the all-new Triton/L200 - in CGI.
Every time, though, the pixel master adds more layers of details to the unofficial design, but not even this time is it any closer to the official Mitsubishi XRT Concept's styling, so we highly doubt that it will ever have the chance to look like this, in the real world. Well, at least the CGI expert hints that his idea is for the US market, given the amber markings on the sides…
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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