Powered by

Mitsubishi Triton Raider confirmed, but will it be more of a rival for the Ranger Raptor or Hilux GR Sport?

 

New range-topping Triton coming in 2026, promising to be more than a ‘sticker pack’


The Triton is finally getting a long-anticipated flagship model to take on Australia’s sportiest dual-cab utes.

Mitsubishi Australia has released a teaser image of the Triton Raider – a variant the company says will go on sale in 2026 as “Mitsubishi’s most adventurous utility ever”.

A Triton Ralliart had been rumoured for years after Mitsubishi declared it wanted to revive its famous performance sub-brand that disappeared in 2010, though Chasing Cars understands the Raider is not a Ralliart project.

2026 Mitsubishi Triton Raider testing in South Australia

The short press release accompanying the teaser photo, however, points to the Raider being developed predominantly, if not wholly, in this country.

“[The Raider] has been tested in the toughest Australian terrain. [It] recently tackled [South Australia’s] legendary Flinders Rangers including this Arkaroola sandstorm [in the teaser image] – as part of its final pre-launch testing program.

“[This ute is] inspired by rally raid competitions and with Australian engineering ingenuity at its core.”

The darkened image creates a silhouette that (deliberately) reveals little bodywork detail, though this would almost certainly be a test mule that features the modified (hidden) mechanicals including requisite suspension lift.

2024 Mitsubishi Triton AXCR rally ute front 3/4 4 dust
2024 Mitsubishi Triton AXCR rally ute

Mitsubishi first hinted at a future performance version of the latest, sixth-generation Triton with its 2024 AXCR (Asia Cross Country Rally) rally racers.

More details on the Triton Raider are expected in the very near future, when we should also learn whether the project is fully in-house or follows the local trend to use a third-party engineering company.

Mitsubishi Australia has previously been in talks with such a company for the creation of a new, range-topping version of the previous-generation Triton that never materialised.

While Ford Australia was responsible for solely developing its Ranger Raptor, Volkswagen is teaming up again with Walkinshaw to create a W600 Amarok and Premcar is again developing a Warrior version of the (new) Navara.

Related articles