Mitsubishi is preparing to defend its
8 consecutive victories in the toughest endurance race on the
planet, the Dakar 2008.
Mitsubishi’s CEO, Osama Masuko, has also announced that the event
will be providing essential technical feedback for the all-new range
of high performance clean diesel engines, which have been confirmed
will make their debut at the Dakar in 2009.
Feedback on both durability and
endurance data is essential for the manufacturer’s revolutionary
development of clean diesel engines to be seen in a number of future
production models.
Clean diesel engines have also been seen in Mitsubishi’s Concept-cX
and Concept-RA
The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team
has also been making final preparations for the 2008 event, with
testing in Morocco and Tunisia. Even under the tight new
performance handicap regulations of reduced engine air-restrictor
and obligatory switch from six- to five-speed gear box, Masuko added
that this work produced multiple gains in terms of transmission
endurance, suspension and handling. As a result, the overall
performance is even stronger than it was for the Dakar 2007.
