Mitsubishi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 42

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 42 of the 2007 Mitsubishi annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 90

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90

MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION Annual Report 2007
40
Motor Sports
For more than 40 years, MMC has continuously
embraced the challenges of various motor sports
events, including the Dakar Rally, and has built up
an impressive track record crowned with many
victories. Our performance in motor sports has re-
ceived significant recognition, especially in Europe,
and has fostered strong customer confidence in
Mitsubishi vehicles.
For MMC, motor sports are a proving ground that
give it the opportunity to push its vehicles to the limit
in pursuit of superior drivability, durability and safety,
and to feed back the technology and expertise
derived from these activities into its product devel-
opment and manufacturing operations. At the same
time, motor sports embody elements of the Mitsubishi
Motors corporate philosophy, realizing “utmost driv-
ing pleasure” and “reassuring safety.” For example,
Mitsubishi Motors SUVs such as the
Pajero
and
Outlander
feature all wheel control (AWC) systems, a
technology concept developed on the front lines of
motor sports. Taking this technology to an even higher
level, the all-new
Lancer Evolution
high-performance
4WD sedan—due for release starting in the fall of
2007—will feature Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC)
technology, an advanced vehicle dynamics control
system that regulates drive torque and braking force
at each wheel to realize superior cornering perfor-
mance. This breakthrough will realize a driving expe-
rience that more faithfully reflects drivers’ intentions
and creates outstanding vehicle stability.
2007: Dakar Rally—MMC Achieves 7th
Consecutive Win and 12th Overall Victory—
A First in Dakar Rally History
The 2007 Dakar Rally marked the 25th time MMC
has participated in this event since its first entry in
1983. In 2007, Stéphane Peterhansel of France
(Mitsubishi
Pajero Evolution
) finished the 16-day,
roughly 8,000 kilometer-long rally in first place in
45 hours, 53 minutes and 37 seconds. With this
victory, the Mitsubishi Motors team surpassed the
record it had previously set for the Dakar Rally,
achieving its 7th consecutive and 12th overall win.
Stéphane Peterhansel scored his third overall win
in the Dakar Rally, and Luc Alphand of France
(Mitsubishi
Pajero Evolution
), the winner of last
year’s Dakar Rally, came in second place. Drivers
from the Mitsubishi Motors team thus claimed both
first and second place for the first time in two years.
In addition, Mitsubishi Motors team members Hiroshi
Masuoka and Juan Nani Roma completed the rally
in 5th and 13th place overall, respectively. These
performances testify to the Mitsubishi Motors team’s
enduring strengths in teamwork, technologies, and
the determination to succeed.
New Delica D:5 Completes Dakar Rally
MMC deployed the new
Delica D:5
, which was due
for its commercial launch at the end of January 2007,
as a support vehicle for the Mitsubishi Motors team
in the 2007 Dakar Rally. Fully loaded with crew and
equipment, the
Delica D:5
completed the journey from
Lisbon, Portugal to Dakar over stretches of rugged dirt
and desert terrain without incurring any trouble.
The Mitsubishi Motors team claimed overall victory in the 2007 Dakar Rally Delica D:5 acted as a support vehicle in the event
40
MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION Annual Report 2007 Motor Sports