Mitsubishi Pajero Mini
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Year: 1997-1998 ```````````````````````````````` Country: Japan
Type: Sport Utility Sub-Compact ``````````````````` Host: GT2
Price: $10,364 (price as tested / used '97 Mini VR-II)
Length: 129.72" // Width: 54.9" // Height: 66.1"
Wheelbase: 89.34"
Track: 50" front & rear
Overhang: 3' 4"
Ground Clearance: 7.62"
Weight: 2,028 lbs. (VR-II) 2,072 ('98 Mini Sport)
Layout: Front Engine / 4-Wheel Drive
Tires: 175/80 R-15
F. Suspension: Macpherson Strut / Coil
R. Suspension: 5-Link / Coil
Brakes: Vented Disc / Drum
Engine: 659 cc SOHC V4
Tested HP: 64 @ 6,400 rpm
Torque: 71 @ 3,000 rpm
Lbs. per HP: 31.7
Hp per liter: 97.1
Aspiration: Intercooled Turbo
Fuel Syst: ECi (electronically-controlled inj.)
Valves / Cyl: 5 (Mini Sport), ? (VR-2)
Bore x Stroke: 2.36 x 2.29"
Compression: 8.5:1
Redline: 7,000 // RPM Limit: 8,000
Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
0-60 mph: 16.6 seconds
0-100mph: 1 minute 4.240 seconds
ÂĽ Mile: 20.869 @ 65 mph
1 KM: 38.426 @ 85 mph
Test Track: 2:29.178
Top Speed at Redline
1st: 22 mph@7,250 rpm
2nd: 38 mph
3rd: 61 mph
4th: 93 mph
5th: 113.50 mph (7,100 rpm)
---------------------EXTERIOR-----------------
Who can't resist a spin in this little jeep?!? Well, maybe YOU can, but I sure can't! The Mini is just all about cute, and it must be a blast to drive off-road in real-life. It's a go-anywhere vehicle, and in GT2 this is no exception. Another merit here is the Pajero itself. The spare tire, the 3 mirrors (2 are door-mounted, the 3rd is on the hood!), and just over 7 ½ inches of ground clearance. There is nothing else like the Pajero, even amongst Kei cars.
There are 2 basic versions we can toy with here: the Pajero Mini VR-II, and the Pajero Mini Sport. The prior can be found only in the used car lots. Sometimes you won't be able to find any used ones, but the Sport is a '98 model and can be bought at any time for about $13,000. If you can find a Mini VR-II, chances are you may have up to 3 different jeeps to choose from at a time. They aren't that hard to find. I managed to get a pink one!
The Sport can be had in 4 colors, plus it weighs 44 pounds more than the VR-II, perhaps due to its DOHC engine. You shouldn't need any weight reductions for either jeep unless you're desperate to have it win something in which it is aggressively out-classed.
Unlike some others Keis, the Pajero Mini can easily be modified at a reasonable price. So let's go do this, now.
--------------------------------ENGINE / DRIVETRAIN---------------------------
I hope some readers appreciate what a task it was trying to drum up info on this machine! After visiting my usual sites, and then using the search engine, I finally found one that had almost everything I was looking for! I was just about ready to start bribeing for specs!!
All Kei cars have little engines that displace no more than 660 cc's and the Pajero Mini is no exception. As usual, it lacks speed, but the high final gear gives it acceleration that is a bit better than usual. A lot of these Kei vehicles can't top 100 mph, but the Mini made it to 113.5 in my test, with room to spare on the tach, so we're on the right track here.
There are 2 levels of intercooled turbos, both are affordable (well, maybe not to a beginner...). The 1st one for either P. Mini costs just $4,000, and stage 2 can be affixed for $12,500. Both intercoolers (sport and racing) can be had for just $4,000. Sweet. In the '97 Pajero, you'll have a total of 180 hp when all is said and done, which peaks exactly at the 7,000 rpm redline. The '98 model, oddly, winds up with 175 hp, even though it's supposedly got better airflow with its 5-valve engine.
Either stage 1 or stage 2 will keep things moving along during races. In the 98 hp kei car races, you'll actually have a harder time. Stage 1 turbos can't be used if you also bought balancing and port/polish since power will be 101hp, minimum, so you'll be stuck driving with just over 70 hp assuming you've got racing aspiration parts. You can still win these 2 races, but you won't be able to rely on power so much.
Long story long: this fun little jeep will kick major ass in the Sunday, Clubman, Compact Car series, all of the B-license nationals, and some of the A's as well. That's a pretty good rap sheet! Below 4,000 rpms, the engine lacks torque, so if you rev @ about this range at the start of any race, you can maximize your starting potential since it features 4WD. Real-life Mini Pajeros have shift-on-the-fly 4 wheel drive, but we can assume that the game car is always in 4 mode.
You can use stock tranny parts for most races, switching to a close-ratio gearbox at Tahiti or Rome Short. At a track like Red Rocks or Midfield, the engine will hit the rev-limit at the very end of the straight with stock parts, so some may want to get a racing gearbox, but it's not fully necessary.
Limited-slip diffs and traction controls will never be necessary, but brake pads and the controller should be used. A fully-modified engine with stock gearing will hit 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and top off at about 128 mph (7,750 rpm) in 5th gear. But that's not the only reason you'll win. Oh really? Why else?
----------------------CHASSIS / DRIVETRAIN----------------------------
With sport tires, sport or semi-racing suspension, and appropriate brake settings for your style of racing, the Pajero becomes a little racing tiger!
Even though you can only lower this car to 5.86" with semi-racing equipment (the racing stuff will get you down to about 5 ½), and the jeep still rolls a lot in hard cornering, it will grip the road like a leech. This is with full engine tuning, too! Now add some slicks (the medium-grade ones seem to do best..soft and super-softs are too sticky...for me, anyways) and you'll be sure to blow away cars with more power.
The cornering of the P. Mini is amazing. Brakes can be applied minimally, understeer is short-lived, even when you forget to brake into corners. Throttle-induced oversteer occurs but it will be of the helpful kind. The kind that lets you position the jeep mid-corner and allows you to plant the accelerator early. The kind that kicks and owns!
Drifting in a Pajero is fun, but you'll be at your best when choosing a good racing line thru corners and sticking to it. The jeep's tiny dimensions allow you to use a lot of cornering area if you're ahead of the pack (which is why you will barely need brakes, and will spend most of your time in turns accelerating out of them!), and you'll usually have plenty of space to work your way thru the competition if you happen to be IN the pack.
Read this: other drivers (Skylines, Fiat Coupes, Plymouth PT's...you name it) will be pissed to be passed up by the Pajero Mini, which is always fun!
----------------------------PROS------------------------------
1. Light weight. Reductions not necessary.
2. Affordable to all!
3. 2 levels of intercooled turbo...and both of them give us a nice range of power, all of which is affordably priced to an intermediate.
4. Amazing handling and manueverability, plus the modified power should guarantee many wins in free, B, and some A-license races.
5. Many different colors available. Used and new versions available. Unique looks.
6. Good tires. Sports can be used even with full tuning if you're good at choosing racing lines. Medium slicks are like icing on the cake. Grip!
7. Isn't it fun racing a jeepster on tarmac? In what other game do you get a chance to race one as unique?
-------------------------------CONS--------------------------
1. Power is ultimately limited to 175 or 180 hp. This is still excellent within reason, though.
2. 4th gear is a bit tall. Close ratio gears will solve this, but can only be used on certain courses with limited range of power available.
3. In the wrong hands, the jeep will spin out easily in hard corners..but this is really just a warning to absolute novice dummies!
4. It's still a kei car, so no power at first...
Published September 16, 2004
83/100. As any Skyline, its handling is just awesome... It acts like a 4WD car without any doubts. Wish it had an R34 GT-R engine 
Thank you.
