It's real! Walkinshaw's tough 2023 Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme has government approval, but is it too late for this Volkswagen Amarok rival?

The current-generation Mitsubishi Triton is getting on in its years, but there could be a tough last hurrah for one of the country’s most popular dual-cabs thanks to Aussie tuning experts Walkinshaw.

The rumoured 2023 Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme has been approved and detailed thanks to government documentation seen by CarsGuide.

The ute has been detailed in enough information, in fact, that we know the Triton Xtreme is a closer rival to utes like the Walkinshaw-tuned Volkswagen Amarok W580SE than it is to the likes of the Ford Ranger Raptor as previously hoped.

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This is because the Triton’s 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine, making 133kW and 430Nm, remains unchanged, as does the six-speed automatic gearbox.

In fact, the approval documents for the Triton Xtreme even show the rear brakes will remain 295mm drums if the dual-cab makes it to the production stage.

What Walkinshaw has worked on, according to the documents, is a tyre and wheel package, featuring unique 18-inch alloys and 265/60 R18 off-road tyres, as well as a trim pack that blacks out all of the Triton’s body trim, adds a few ‘Xtreme’ decals, and a Triton-branded rear sports bar over the tray.

While it’s believed dealers have seen images of the ute, the government documentation features pictures too unclear for publication. Instead, above is a render created by CarsGuide in 2022 referencing our expectation for Mitsubishi’s plans for a tougher Triton variant.

With the GSR being the basis for the Xtreme, slightly less rugged cladding than our render features on the real car, as well as a black roof without lights, instead there is a low-mounted lightbar on the front bumper.

It’s also possible, though not detailed, that Walkinshaw has tweaked the Triton’s suspension without fundamentally altering its setup.

The Xtreme will be built off the GSR variant.

While Walkinshaw is the approval holder according to the documents, there’s no reference to the tuning brand’s name appearing as part of the model’s name, which would likely be in part due to the existence of the Volkswagen Amarok W580SE, the W in that variant name referring to Walkinshaw’s tuning work.

It's not clear if this means Walkinshaw is working on the Xtreme alone, or in partnership with Mitsubishi Australia.

While the Xtreme is fully compliant with Australian regulations, it’s also still possible we won’t ever see it hit showrooms.

The new Mitsubishi Triton is larger than its predecessor, and is even ‘secretly’ testing on Aussie soil. (image credit: MZ Crazy Cars)

Despite a compliance example of the variant having been built already, the next-generation Triton looms, and is expected to be revealed as early as late this year.

This means if the Xtreme was to hit Aussie dealerships, it’d have to get into the market as soon as possible to be worth the effort for Mitsubishi dealers to sell the model for as long as they can.

CarsGuide has contacted Mitsubishi Australia for comment regarding the Triton Xtreme.