A new patent might mean that the Ranger Raptor-fighting Mitsubishi Triton Absolute is getting closer to production.
Last March, Mitsubishi introduced the Triton Absolute concept (spelled TRITON ABSOLUTE in the press release) at the Bangkok International Motor Show. Their advertising used the words "rugged", "robust", and "tough" so often that they lost all meaning after the seventh or eighth time, and sadly Mitsubishi forgot to include things like horsepower and approach and departure angles.
Most of what we learned was what we could see in the concept photos. The Triton Absolute looked like a jacked up L200, with a 2-inch lift kit, some big off-road tires, and skid plates on the front and back. Carbon fiber made up the fenders, bumper, and tailgate, while the roof had an integrated rack with LEDs built into the front.
It certainly looked cool, but concepts are sometimes just built to look cool instead of being functional. Mitsubishi gave no indication that the Triton Absolute would ever see production, so we left it as a footnote and moved on.
However, now we’re being told that Mitsubishi is following through with the Triton Absolute. Or at least submitting patent applications. Australian car site CarAdvice managed to get their hands on a set of images that they say are part of a patent application, indicating that Mitsubishi might be bringing us the Triton Absolute after all.
The patent indicates two versions of the Absolute are to be made. The first is a toned-down version which doesn’t have all the fancy roof racks and side steps, just the big off-road tires, 2-inch lift, and chunky fenders. The hardcore version will look more like the concept, complete with bed-mounted side rails and a roof rack with integrated LEDs.
We still don’t know what’s going on under the hood of the Triton, but we suspect it’ll come with the same 2.4-L gas engine or 2.5-L turbodiesel that it currently has. If we were betting, we’d put our money on the turbodiesel.
However, a trademark doesn’t necessarily mean that Mitsubishi is making a real pickup. It could just be they don’t want anyone else stealing their cool design. Or it could be that they plan to make something to take on the Ranger Raptor. We hope it’s the latter.