All-New Mitsubishi Raider Virtually Returns to America With V8 Power in the Bay

Let us take North America for example. Its U.S. lineup is based on a trio of crossover SUVs and one little passenger car. The family starts with the tiny Mirage, which costs just $16,245, followed by the Mirage G4 sedan (at $17,245). Then the CUVs take over.

So, one can have the 2023 Outlander Sport from $22,995, followed by the 2023 Eclipse Cross from $25,795, and then it’s time for the best-selling $27,595 Outlander and $39,845 Outlander PHEV. No sign of a Lancer, let alone an Evo, and even the Eclipse is now a compact crossover rather than a sports car.

Oh well, at least Mitsubishi can have a questionable moment of pride of not going over $40k with any of its models – and that’s certainly interesting during an age of incredible price surges. But, of course, profit must suffer from that, as well. Thus, what could be done to make sure that Mitsubishi not only survives but also starts to thrive in America?

I am not so sure about the real world, but the imaginative realm of digital vehicle content creators has already found a quick solution. Or, rather, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has done that. His latest idea was simple – take up the task of revealing a new Raider pickup truck - in CGI. What do you mean, ‘what’s a Mitsubishi Raider?’

In case anyone needs a reminder, the nameplate was introduced to the United States market by the Japanese carmaker in late 2005 for the 2006 to 2009 model years. It was a mid-size pickup truck that shared an uncanny connection to the Dodge Dakota as both were based on the same Chrysler ND platform. Equipped with either a 3.7-liter PowerTech V6 or 4.7-liter PoerTech V8 and 4/5-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmissions, it was sold with two- and four-door body styles.

Chrysler built the Mitsubishi Raider truck alongside the Dakota in Michigan and – by the way – if the name sounds familiar it is because there was also a Dodge Raider SUV on sale between 1987 and 1990 as a rebadged Mitsubishi Montero/Pajero. Well, since the model had such a short stint on the U.S. market, it is pretty clear that it did not sell fast, right?

But that may not matter for this revival if it gets a V8 under the hood in an age where everyone is downsizing – and that would certainly give it leverage against the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger (Raptor), Chevy Colorado, and GMC Canyon, or the Nissan Frontier. As for the Outlander-ish design, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, remember?