Mitsubishi ready to tackle the 1st edition on Central Europe Rally

DAKAR SERIES 2008
CENTRAL EUROPE RALLY
20-26 APRIL 2008
PREVIEW

REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART READY FOR EXCITING NEW CHALLENGE WITH DIESEL POWER IN 2008

Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution MPR14

Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart is pleased to announce the cross-country rally debut of the new, diesel-powered version of the Pajero/Montero Evolution, code-named MPR14.

The team has also taken significant measures to make its competition programme even more environmentally aware thanks to the introduction of a range of Mitsubishi Technology initiatives involving close collaboration with its partners Repsol, Valeo and BFGoodrich.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and its motor sports unit MMSP have established the team's objectives for the coming season, as well as for the 2009 ‘Dakar’, which breaks new ground with a start, and finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a rest-day in Valparaiso on Chile's Pacific coast.

Meanwhile, the major new feature of the team's 2008 programme is the introduction of a turbo-diesel version of the highly successful Pajero/Montero Evolution, cross-country rallying's most successful car with a record 12 Dakar wins to its name since 1985. The new 2,997cc V6 powerplant benefits from Mitsubishi's longstanding expertise in the field of advanced diesel technologies, ranging from low compression ratios to high-pressure fuel injection. Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart has also decided to take a lead by enhancing its environmentally responsible approach to its competition activities in association with its key partners, Repsol, Valeo and BFGoodrich, all of whom stand out as pioneers in their specific domains when it comes to protecting the planet. "Now, our motor sports activity has taken a step up to establish the environmentally-friendly engineering strategy of Mitsubishi Motors" underlines MMSP SAS's new president, Osamu Nakayama.

Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution MPR14

Repsol sees the arrival of diesel power for the Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR14 as an ideal opportunity to bring its latest research developments into efficient fuels in general and non-food sourced biodiesel in particular to the table. Indeed, the Spanish-based oil and gas firm's efforts in this field contributed to its recent nomination as a 'Gold Class' company in the Sustainability Yearbook 2008 compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Sustainable Asset Management (SAM), an independent company tasked with conducting the annual assessments for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

And the Michelin Group – which owns the BFGoodrich brand – has always stressed that the transfer of technology between its motor sports activities and road tires is by no means unilateral, and cites its ongoing research into low rolling resistance as one area in which production tires have benefited the competition programmes of partners such as Mitsubishi. The 1990s saw the Michelin Group take a valuable lead in this domain with the launch of the first green car and truck tire range which has gone on to see the advent of products such as the current award-winning Michelin Energy Saver tire.

MPR14 Crew for 08 CER: Hiroshi Masouka and Pascal Maimon

Last but by no means least, Valeo's long experience of automotive systems and electronics proved invaluable during the development of the new diesel-powered Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR14. Its contribution essentially concerned the specific cooling system using the UltimateCooling™ architecture. Valeo's input also concerns the advanced low energy LED front and rear lighting systems used on the car and which further contribute to achieving appreciable fuel savings.