Toughened up ute coming to hunt Nissan Navara Warrior, Toyota HiLux Rogue and maybe even Ford Ranger Raptor: We imagine the 2025 Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart but will it be a plug-in hybrid?

Mitsubishi's new ute provides the perfect platform to relaunch its defunct Ralliart brand.

To see what it might look like, we’ve imagined a 2025 Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart as a hardcore plug-in hybrid off-roader. 

The Triton Ralliart has been spoken of so often it would be a crying shame if Mitsubishi didn’t carry through with a production version to target the Nissan Navara Warrior, Toyota HiLux Rogue and potentially even Ford Ranger Raptor buyers. 

"We are asking for a Ralliart," is what Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott told CarsGuide at the Triton ute’s national launch, before intimating that other ute-loving markets such as South Africa would also be keen on the product.

The new ute is hugely improved from its predecessor with wider tracks, a longer wheelbase and vastly stiffer frame. Mitsubishi has also teased a different version of a Triton in its Momentum 2030 presentation with side steps and off-road wheel and tyre package. 

Here, we’ve commissioned a render from digital artist Thanos Pappas to show what we think a Triton Ralliart could look like, with inspiration from the AXCR competition vehicle. 

The stance has been pumped up by at least 50mm with it remaining legal thanks to more blistered wheel arches. A combination of new springs – matched with high-end dampers, naturally – and taller off-road tyres fitted to smaller diameter black alloy wheels gives the Ralliart extra ground clearance and presence. 

Underbody protection is essential for an off-roader, so the Ralliart gets a front skid-plate and bash-guard integrated into the bumper. Finishing off the treatment are a two-tone livery and a cheeky Ralliart badge embedded in the simplified grille design. 

It is likely even a flagship model would leave room for aftermarket modifications, so there is no snorkel or rock sliders fitted to the render you see here. Inside, you’d likely find Ralliart logos embossed on the seats and a black/red upholstery treatment.

What’s under the bonnet is harder to get a picture of. The new Triton utilises a 2.4-litre twin-turbo diesel producing 150kW and 470Nm. It is hooked up to Mitsubishi's 'Super Select II' full-time 4WD system and a six-speed automatic.

Like the Navara Warrior and HiLux Rogue this could go unchanged for the Triton Ralliart for reliability and simplicity but where’s the fun in that?

Instead, Ralliart could be where Mitsubishi will choose to deploy its plug-in hybrid expertise in ute form. We know electrification is in the Triton’s future, yet how and when remains a mystery. 

Mitsubishi has mentioned a three-motor plug-in hybrid system with twin rear motors. It was mooted to arrive in the Outlander medium SUV as a Ralliart flagship though the trail has gone cold of late. It won't use diesel in its PHEV set-up, rather a petrol engine.

The same system could motivate a Triton with up to 285kW sent to all four wheels and advanced torque vectoring – perfect for off-roading. Regardless of its power source, though, a tougher Triton is certainly on the way. 

"What Mitsubishi has demonstrated successfully in the past is that we don't rally just as a show-boating experiment or as a branding experiment ... we actually take the learnings from those rally experiences and we build them into our cars,” Mr Westcott said. 

“Whether that be Active Yaw Control or Super All Wheel Control, it doesn't matter what it is, we actually build that technology into our cars.

"So the fact that we are there, and that we are in Ralliart and that we are racing the vehicle I think does open up an opportunity for us to look at performance enhancement in the future potentially around the vehicle." 

The brand is continuing to go back to its 4WD roots with a new-gen Pajero off-roader shaping up alongside the likely release of the Triton-based Pajero Sport SUV. Full details for the new models are expected over the coming years.