The hardest goodbye: selling TG's Mk1 Mitsubishi Shogun

Renowned photographer Mark has been working with Top Gear for many, many years. When not taking photos he’s buying inappropriate cars. Here he shares his addiction with the world.

When I was a child, my parents repeatedly told me there was no favourite between myself and my brother. Since I’ve become a parent however, I realise that statement isn’t entirely accurate. The role of favourite is in fact fluid. I say this as someone who’s become a guardian for terrible old Mitsubishi 4x4s. This started with a MkI Shogun back in 2022; I knew nothing about ‘em and bought it purely because it looked cool and cost very little. Yet it triggered a huge obsession, and I quickly vowed I’d never sell this car no matter what.

Arguably, this Pajero/Shogun obsession hasn’t been the healthiest. Last year, my Evolution needed a new engine and its body completely repainting. The year before, I bought a three-door ‘unicorn’ unseen, which turned out to be a lame donkey. And the year before that was a 1985 ‘safari roof’ wagon located in South Africa. It looked too good to be true; this was confirmed when the seller disappeared after payment.

And yet despite all of this, that very first Shogun has been the most reliable and trusty rig of ’em all. It’ll sit for months in my unit without a battery charger and still start first time. Even its MOT tests have been hassle free, which might be a world first for any 90s Shogun/Pajero. There’s a reason it’s my favourite, which makes it all the more shameful to push it aside now the Pajero Evolution is back from its Turkey spec glow up.

It feels a bit wrong to sell the car which kick started my Pajero obsession, but its latest MOT test raised something even more alarming than words like ‘corrosion’ and ‘advisory’. In the past three years alone, it’s covered just 484 miles, a quarter of those driving to and from the test station. I appear to be acting like some kind of collector rather than a berk who buys old naff 4x4s. And that doesn’t sit well with me.

So just keep it, then? I did consider that, but I also had the identical thought process with my Pajero Evolution a few months back. My plan was to spend money on making it very nice and then recoup that by selling it, which was fine up until the point I decided not to sell it.

The only saving grace is the MkI Shogun appears to be going to a friend who suffers from a similar idiotic obsession. He also has no need for a MkI Shogun; he knows nothing about them and has a perfectly good BMW as a daily. It makes no sense for him to buy an old Shogun which is exactly why he wants it.

He has also done an unhealthy amount of research before buying it, teeing up parts to collect already which could well be a red flag (for him). But if this is his mindset before taking delivery, it’s safe to say the OG MkI Shogun is headed to another brilliant (but awful) home, and that next month I can actually update the GT-R and put a rest to many years of Pajero meltdowns.