Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team announced today that the Mitsubishi Racing Lancer D-iD will have its official unveiling at the Paris Motor Show 2008. Four Mitsubishi Racing Lancer D-iD racers will be entered in the 2009 Dakar rally season.
The Mitsubishi Racing Lancer D-iD packs a 3-litre V6 diesel engine that's good for 66.3kgfm (650Nm) of maximum torque and 280PS (206kW). The engine of the Mitsubishi Racing Lancer D-iD is coupled with a five-speed sequential gearbox and a permanent four-wheel drive transmission that features the same self-locking differential used in the Pajero/Montero Evolution.
from the Mitsubishi press release:
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and its motor sport unit, the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team, in association with its partners Repsol, Valeo and BFGoodrich – will enter the new, turbodiesel 'Racing Lancer' in next year's Dakar Rally which will take competitors through Argentina and Chile from Saturday January 3 until Sunday January 18, 2009.
Four-Car Turbodiesel Dakar Entry
The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team is poised to kick off its first full season using turbocharged diesel power with a four-car entry on the 2009 Dakar. The team's bid will be spearheaded by its latest cross-country rally car, the new Racing Lancer.
The four-car driver line-up is the same as that which has represented the team on this annual cross-country rally since 2005, namely Stéphane Peterhansel (France), Hiroshi Masuoka (Japan), Luc Alphand (France), and Joan 'Nani' Roma (Spain).
The 31st Dakar Rally will see the event switch to fresh territory in South America where Mitsubishi's foursome will be looking to secure not only its first-ever victory with a diesel powered car, but also the company's 13th success – including a run of seven successive wins since 2001— at this event.
Unveil – Paris Motor Show 2008
The Racing Lancer will be officially unveiled on Thursday October 2 at the 2008 Paris Motor Show (Paris Expo, Paris, France) which opens to the public from Saturday, October 4 until Sunday, October 19. It will be displayed alongside the 'Lancer Sportback' upon which it is based and which is due to go on sale across Europe this autumn.
The new Mitsubishi 'Racing Lancer'
The motor sport department of Mitsubishi Motors and MMSP both contributed to the development of the Racing Lancer which complies with the Group T1 regulations of the FIA (motor sport's international governing body: Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) introduced in
2002. The firm's latest cross-country rally car, which has been designed to take onboard the new super production regulations when they come into force in 2010, has benefited extensively from the experience acquired with the Pajero/Montero Evolution.
The development of the turbo-diesel engine began in April 2006 before being grafted into a Pajero/Montero Evolution for testing purposes in June 2007. Development of the body began in August 2007 and the first Racing Lancer was completed in June 2008. This car was put through its paces during one-week test sessions in Spain and Morocco, as well as over typical cross-country rally terrain in France. Based on the data collected during these tests, further sessions were organized in Morocco at the end of August/early September plus another two weeks in October prior to the Racing Lancer's debut on the sixth round of the FIA Cross-Country Baja International Cup, the Baja Portalegre (Thursday, October 30 to Sunday, November 2).
The Racing Lancer is based on a new multi-tubular steel frame. The team has taken particular care to minimize weight, while the additional space freed up by the longer wheelbase – a decision based on the regulations due to come into force in 2010 – has enabled the gas tank to be positioned lower in the car and has consequently brought down the centre of gravity. Handling has also been improved thanks to the new location of the spare tyres which ensures enhanced control of the moment of inertia.
Mitsubishi Motors's design department was responsible for the body styling which uses carbon panels based on the design of the Lancer Sportback. The design was finalized after validation of the new car's aerodynamic performance in a wind tunnel.
The powerful 3-litre V6 diesel engine features a two-stage turbocharger which positions a small and large turbine configuration on each side of engine, working with both the small and large turbine according to engine revolution and load.
Peak torque is 66.3kgfm (650Nm), while maximum power currently stands at 280PS (206kW), although this figure is expected to increase as development work continues. The cooling system of the intercooler is positioned at the rear of the car and is fed by the characteristic roof-mounted air scoop.
The V6 engine is fed through a manual Ricardo five-speed sequential gearbox engineered to cope with the high torque delivered by the powerplant. The Racing Lancer's permanent four-wheel drive transmission features the same self-locking differential as that used for Pajero/Montero Evolution.
Both the front and rear suspension systems feature extensively revised geometry and are both based on a double wishbone layout with coil springs, anti-roll bars and uprated BOS dampers which can be adjusted through a broader range. The car runs on BFGoodrich's new low-energy 245/80-16 cross-country rally tyres and OZ aluminium alloy wheels (16x7JJ). The vented 16-inch brake discs are coupled with six-piston Brembo calipers.
Specifications: Racing Lancer
OVERALL LENGTH 4475mm
OVERALL WIDTH 1990mm
WHEELBASE 2900mm
FRONT/ REAR TRACK 1750mm/1750mm
OVERALL WEIGHT 1900kg
ENGINE MODEL 6-cylinder Turbodiesel 24-Valve with dry-sump oil system
FUEL SYSTEM Common rail high pressure injection
DISPLACEMENT 3997cc
MAXIMUM OUTPUT 206kw (280 PS), 650Nm (66.3 kgfm)
FUEL TANK CAPACITY undecided
TRANSMISSION 5-speed ‘Ricardo’-type, sequential shift gearbox and mechanical gear selection
4WD system full time, mechanical centre diff lock
Front diff ‘Ricardo’ self-locking differential
Rear diff ‘Ricardo’ self-locking differential
SUSPENSION
Front Independent, double wishbones, coil spring
Rear Independent, double wishbones, coil spring and anti-roll bar system
DAMPERS ‘BOS’ fully-adjustable damping
WHEEL STROKE 250 mm front and rear
STEERING Power-assisted rack and pinion
BRAKES ‘BREMBO’ Front and rear Ventilated discs with 6-piston calipers
WHEELS ‘OZ’ aluminium (7JJ x 16)
TYRES BF Goodrich (245/80 – 16)
OTHERS Aeronautic steel multi-tubular frame, Honeycomb body floor and carbon fibre body
Measures in favour of the environment
Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart will be taking a range of measures to reduce its environmental impact for the 2009 Dakar.
The competing Racing Lancers will feature advanced diesel technology, including high pressure injection and low compression ratios. The cars will run on a fuel mix that includes biodiesel(1) , a carbon-neutral(2) alternative fuel, while green plastic(3) has been employed for several components including high frequency consumption parts as front bumper corners, mud guards, etc.
Repsol sees the arrival of diesel power for the Racing Lancer as an ideal opportunity to bring its latest research developments into efficient fuels in general and non-food sourced biodiesel in particular to the table. The Spanish-based oil and gas firm's efforts in this field contributed to its recent nomination as a 'Gold Class' company in the Sustainability Yearbook 2008 compiled by Price Waterhouse Coopers and Sustainable Asset Management (SAM), an independent company tasked with conducting the annual assessments for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Valeo green technologies' experience of automotive systems and electronics proved invaluable during the development of the 'Racing Lancer's' cooling system which uses the UltimateCooling™ architecture. Valeo's input also concerned the LED daytime running lights, rear lights and roof-mounted stop light which are more efficient since producing less heat, consume significantly less energy - and therefore less fuel - and are longer lasting. MMSP will benefit from the latest BFGoodrich-developed ‘’All Terrain’’ tyre (245/80-16) which boasts both versatility and durability. It is ideal for the sort of mixed, hostile terrain and long competitive distances found in cross-country rallying in general and on the 2009 Dakar in particular. The BFGoodrich's ‘’All Terrain’s’’ characteristics and new dimension ensure low rolling resistance, as well as a more comfortable ride. It also stronger with a view to shrugging off the risk of punctures.
