What's the news?
You've probably not heard of the Bangkok Motor Show, but Mitsubishi has, and it's showing off an ultra-rugged L200 pick-up concept at the show. It probably helps that the L200 (under its alias as the Mitsubishi Triton) is built in that neck of the woods, in Thailand.
Embodying what Mitsubishi calls its "Absolutely Beyond Tough" philosophy, the L200 Absolute (or Triton Absolute, take your pick) gets special body cladding, big front and rear skid plates with red accents to protect delicate bits underneath, a redesigned tailgate and a special lighting system that includes rooftop LEDs for really frightening the local wildlife.
There's also wider-track suspension, big off-road-y wheels and chunky tyres and a 50mm rise in ride height, which gives the truck longer suspension travel and more ground clearance. There's also a load-compartment cover with chunky side-rails, and basically the whole thing looks like a Mitsubishi rival to Ford's incoming Ranger Raptor. Can we just say right now that we have absolutely no problem with that? In fact, we may have a twin-test idea...
According to Mitsubishi: "We expect this bold and ambitious model to resonate strongly with pickup owners everywhere by embodying the proven mechanical durability and go-anywhere performance capabilities of the L200, which were further advanced with the launch of the 2019 model in Thailand last autumn. The L200 Absolute is also a key representation of Mitsubishi's "Drive your Ambition" brand tagline, expressing the 100-year DNA of the automobile manufacturing through tough design as well as the progressive values and exploration-minded ambitions of its drivers."
Anything else?
So far, the Absolute is just a one-off to show what Mitsubishi could do with the sixth-generation L200, but we'd suspect that some, much, or all of the Absolute add-ons will be available in pretty short order, either as a specific model, or as dealer-fit accessories.