The Mitsubishi Pajero is a sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. It was named after Leopardus Pajeros, the Pampas Cat, which inhabits the Patagonia plateau region in southern Argentina. However, Pajero is a slang term for "Wanker" in Spanish; alternative names have been adopted for certain markets overseas. It is known as the Mitsubishi Montero, meaning mountain warrior, in Spain, India, and the Americas (except Brazil), and as Mitsubishi Shogun in the United Kingdom.
The first generation made its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1981, and was launched in May 1982. Initially, it was a three-door with short-wheelbase model available with a metal or canvas top.
The Pajero, however, failed to appeal to everyone. It was seen to be a commercial vehicle, and since it was only available in a short wheel base form, it didn’t really appeal to those with families.
In February 1983, Mitsubishi came out with a long wheel base, five door model, to serve the needs of a larger target market. The long wheelbase model also increased seating capacity to seven, with available third row seats, which could be folded to the sides for additional trunk space or combined with second row seats to form a bed.
The Pajero was further refined in June 1984. The turbo diesel engines now had higher power/torque ratings, whilst the long wheel base models got standard four wheel disc brakes and four way adjustable shock absorbers as standard equipment.
A new flagship model was then introduced in early 1987, with a two-tone paintjob, fifteen inch (38 cm) light alloy wheels, front seat heaters, wool seat covers, genuine leather headrests, a three spoke steering wheel and a sound system with radio/cassette. Also in 1987, a version of the Pajero/Montero was rebadged by Dodge as the Raider, which ran through 1989.
Finally in 1988, a 3.0-litre SOHC V6 engine was made available, alongside a 2.5-litre turbo diesel engine, with the first 4x4 intercooler. This translated to better acceleration in mid to high rev ranges. The long wheel base models got a coil link suspension system for better ride comfort and off-road ability.
The Gen 1 platform was later built under license by Hyundai Precision Products as the Hyundai Galloper from 1991 to 2003, and exported to Europe for a brief time. While it used first generation mechanicals, the Galloper's body was closer to the second generation Pajero.
*taken and summarized from Wikipedia.
Tomica - Mitsubishi Pajero
