Mitsubishi is using this year Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham to showcase a one-off vehicle built with Top Gear. It is based on the current Mitsubishi L200 and it was developed in secret, under the codename Project Swarm.
‘Project Swarm’ is built in the style of a ‘Pre-Runner’ off-road vehicle – specially modified production vehicles that are beefed-up to ‘pre-run’ stages of off-road desert racers.
Tom Ford, Associate Editor for Top Gear magazine, recently named as one of Top Gear America’s hosts, joined forces with renowned engineer Ralph Hosier of RH Engineering, best known for his work on National Geographic Channel show Supercar Megabuild, to transform his standard Mitsubishi L200.
While it still has the interior of a production L200, enhanced by a set of bespoke Cobra racing seats, the Desert Warrior has been made even more capable thanks to a range of additions, including an external roll cage, heavily modified suspension, oversized wheels with self-inflating tyres, long range LED lights and some extra kit that will be needed to negotiate some of the world’s harshest terrain.
Top Gear is planning to use the Mitsubishi L200 Desert Warrior for a very special upcoming challenge which will feature in the magazine, and online.
Commenting on his radical Mitsubishi L200, Tom Ford, said: “I’ve always had an obsession with ‘Pre-runners’ and this is my idea of the perfect desert truck. It’s a very serious truck but it’s got that little bit of theatre that makes me think it’s got something extra to it. It’s still an L200, but it has been made to be max-attack and it will not break. It’s exactly what I wanted – something that has the appearance of a Hot Wheels toy and is every bit as tough as it looks!”
