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Electric?
"ANANAI sport" (1994)This car was designed at the request of the dealer who would like to raise the culture of a custom car into Japan.The clay model and the FRP body were uniquely manufactured within the dealer.
Designer Michiro Eguchi has posted multiple images of this car on his personal FB page. The concept was for a sports coupe based on the Mitsubishi Pajero and appears to be called "Phantom Pajero Sports Coupe."
The Mitsubishi Pajero is Japan's leading off-road SUV. It is a well-known masterpiece that has won the Dakar Rally 12 times, including seven consecutive victories. Although production of the car sadly came to an end in Japan last year (2019), it has now been discovered that a coupe-body type demo car called the "Pajero Sports Coupe" was actually produced! The demo car was first unveiled at the 3rd Design Business Fair, held at the International Design Center in Nagoya from November 26th to 28th, 1997. The designer was Michio Eguchi, who joined Mitsubishi Motors in 1972 and was responsible for the design of many models, including the Minica, Minicab, Mirage, RVR, and MP90X. In 1990, he became a consultant for AIMIX Yumekobo, a company established by Aichi Mitsubishi Motors Sales Co., Ltd., and started the development of a custom car based on the Pajero from scratch.The Pajero Sports Coupe was specially unveiled in response to a strong request from the International Design Center to exhibit it. The specs are: Length 4870mm x Width 1940mm x Height 1680mm, Wheelbase 2695mm. Tire size is 265/70R16. Vehicle weight is 1370kg. Seats 4, estimated price is 5.8 million yen.The initial engine was the Mitsubishi 6G72 3L V6 SOHC 12 valve. The front suspension is a double wishbone torsion bar spring independent suspension, while the rear suspension is a three-link coil spring axle suspension. Taking into consideration the need to pass vehicle inspections, the car was based on the Pajero long 5-door with a frame, and the specifications were made to conform to that model, but the overall width was increased along with the increase in tire size, and the overall height was lowered.The final model was exhibited with a Chevrolet 4.3L V6 OHV engine and a 2WD chassis, but AIMIX Yumekobo closed down after that, and the whereabouts of the car are unknown.It has become a phantom Pajero Coupe.Even during his time at Mitsubishi Motors, Eguchi had the vision that tall sporty cars would be needed in the future. The Pajero Sports Coupe was designed with a roll bar integrated into the body, as simply making the car taller while maintaining the coupe style would not be enough. This car is a shining example of Eguchi's foresight, as he pioneered the now-popular coupe SUV at a time when the term "SUV" didn't even exist.
