Mitsubishi Ralliart is currently working to restore the Pajero Evolution that Patrick Zaniroli drove to victory at the 1985 Paris–Dakar Rally. While Zaniroli is French, his ride was the first Japanese car to win the Dakar overall.

After racing a Volkswagen Iltis at his Dakar debut in 1980, Zaniroli was a Range Rover VSD driver until Mitsubishi recruited him for the 1985 race. The Japanese manufacturer had entered Dakar for the first time in 1983 with the Pajero Evolution, and were looking for someone who could take them to the next level. Zaniroli seemed like a natural fit and was hungry to finally get over the hump himself, having finished second overall twice in 1980 and 1984.

The Pajero Evolution is a prototype developed using a ladder frame and body of its production counterpart, but the wheelbase was extended to balance out the weight at the front and rear. The body was made from carbon Kevlar fiber-reinforced plastic, which reduced the weight by over 200 kilograms. It also came with three-link suspension rather than leaf spring and 2.6-liter 4G54 turbocharged engine, the latter bringing the top speed up to 185 km/h while still being relatively easy to drive.

While it wasn’t until Stage 9 that they won their first leg, Zaniroli and navigator Jean da Silva didn’t need long to take the lead. Defending winner Porsche fell into a hole quickly and Audi struck first courtesy of Bernard Darniche, though the latter dropped out eventually with a rear differential failure. This put Zaniroli second overall behind the 2WD Opel of Guy Colsoul before the latter got lost, enabling Zaniroli and teammate Andrew Cowan to pull ahead in their 4×4 Pajeros.

Zaniroli led all drivers with four stage victories while Cowan notched two as they secured a Mitsubishi 1–2. Despite being the leader for much of the race, it wasn’t all smooth for Zaniroli. His engine’s electric cooling fan broke during Stage 12 from Timbuktu to Néma, causing him to stop for half an hour until Cowan and the Range Rover of Pierre Raymondis came by to help.

The penultimate stage, a 700-km run, was called “very hard” by Zaniroli but he added “the car is working, all is going well.”

By the end, Zaniroli and Cowan finished 26:19 apart. Third place Pierre Fougerouse was over five and a half hours behind.

He remained a Pajero factory driver through 1986, competing in other races as well as the Dakar. Zaniroli’s final Dakar was in 1990.

“A total distance of 10,284 kilometers traveled over 22 days. From Paris across the Ténéré Desert to Dakar. In the grueling Dakar Rally, where more than half of the competitors had to retire, this was the first time a Japanese car had scored the overall victory,” begins a statement from Ralliart.

“The 1985 Dakar Rally winner marked the beginning of the Pajero’s subsequent success. It’s currently undergoing restoration to return it to its original appearance.”

Ralliart, which was co-founded by Cowan, went on to build Pajeros until 2009 and won Dakar 12 times. While the company no longer does the Dakar, a Japanese rally raid program has competed in the Asia Cross Country Rally since 2022 and won the latest edition with a Mitsubishi Triton.

Featured image credit: The Daily Telegraph