Mitsubishi XRT Concept showcases what to expect from the new Triton ute both in terms of design and intent
The next-generation 2024 Mitsubishi Triton has been officially previewed via the 2023 Mitsubishi XRT Concept as anticipation builds for the crucial new ute’s global reveal in the middle of this year.
Presented in flagship dual-cab 4×4 pick-up form, the near-production concept debuted today at the Bangkok motor show and gives us our best look yet at the all-new sixth-generation Triton, a large chunk of the development of which has been carried out Down Under.
That’s because Australia is the world’s biggest Triton market outside Thailand, where the Japanese brand’s second best seller is produced for southeast Asia, and the replacement for this country’s third most popular ute aims to steal more buyers from the new Ford Ranger and the nation’s favourite new vehicle, the aged Toyota HiLux.
But following several COVID-related development delays, the new Triton is unlikely to arrive in Australian showrooms before early 2024, which will be too late to arrest the current Triton’s sharp sales decline in 2023.
Triton 4×4 sales boomed by almost 50 per cent in 2022, when the Triton ranked fourth overall behind the HiLux, Ranger and Toyota RAV4, and Mitsubishi was the fourth most popular brand behind Toyota, Mazda and Kia.
But to February this year, Triton 4×4 sales are 63 per cent down, putting the eight-year-old ute outside the top 10 best selling models and relegating Mitsubishi to sixth behind Toyota, Mazda, Ford, Kia and Hyundai.
So there’s a lot riding on the new Mitsubishi Triton, which like the XRT Concept will be bigger, bolder and butcher than any previous Mitsu ute, and could be topped by a similar flagship dual-cab 4×4 Ralliart variant wearing aggressive mud-terrain tyres, a factory snorkel, sailplane sports bars, prominent wheel-arch extensions and subtle Ralliart side badging.
This motorsport garnish and tub-mounted wheel carriers aren’t all for show, since Mitsubishi plans to compete in the 2023 Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) series with a “prototype cross-country model of the all-new Triton” built to Group T1 specifications.
Lurking underneath all that competition-grade tinsel, however, are the key design cues of the next Triton, which as we’ve already seen from previous spy images has spent some time in the gym and bulked up a bit.
Every exterior line, crease or contour has been made squarer and the front-end is bolder and boofier than ever before thanks in part to a “fierce” new take on Mitsubishi’s signature ‘Dynamic Shield’ grille design and pumped-out front wings.
The low-set headlights are closed over on the concept, but we expect this detail to be one of the only a few changes between the XRT and eventual Triton production vehicle in terms of its core design, perhaps along with a more subtle flare for the wheel-arches – at least for lower grades.
“The all-new Triton is going through final touch-ups in preparation for its release, as we have performed rigorous endurance tests around the world while also incorporating the know-how gained from rally activities,” Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kato said.
“With the new vehicle launches as the centrepiece, we will continue our drive toward further growth. Please look forward to the future of Mitsubishi Motors.”
Before the first all-new Triton since 2015 arrives in local showrooms in about 12 months’ time, Mitsubishi Australia could release the 2023 Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme – a limited-edition flagship version of the current model to keep sales and interest ticking over.
Featuring largely cosmetic upgrades, the Triton Xtreme concept was designed and developed by Walkinshaw Group at Mitsubishi Australia’s request, but it remains to be seen whether Mitsubishi Motors HQ approves the project in time for a release this year.
Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme concept
However, the XRT Concept and the pending motorsport debut of a new Triton prototype strongly suggest that Mitsubishi’s new ute range will eventually be topped by an off-road hero to rival the Ranger Raptor and HiLux GR Sport.
Mitsubishi previously also flagged its intention for a hybrid version of the new Triton, fitted with a more powerful version of the Outlander’s plug-in hybrid powertrain that could even power the Ralliart flagship.
Since then, however, Nissan has also indicated it is developing an e-POWER hybrid version of its next Navara, which will be based on the new Triton and released by 2025, so it’s unclear which petrol-electric powertrain the co-developed utes will share.
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Keyword: New Mitsubishi Triton officially previewed