Ricci's Garage: scratching a 4x4 Japanese itch with... a Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution

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

I became a father for the second time recently to a beautiful, healthy little girl named Bella. Upon having a child, it’s customary for those around you to joke about the lack of sleep, time, and money your life will now be fraught with. And of course, they’re absolutely right.

However, newborn babies have a tendency of sleeping for many hours each day. And with my eldest daughter now at nursery, there’s unusual periods of time where there’s very little to do. Not so much that you can get actual jobs done, but enough to open the phone and browse various classifieds while everyone else is actually working.

It gets worse as the day goes on, too. Night feeds are typically quite painful, especially while sat burping a baby for an age while trying to remain awake and alert. But it turns out browsing the classifieds – yet again – can be quite a good solution to this issue. Assuming it doesn’t enter Betfred levels of addiction, which I may be on the cusp of reaching given I actively look forward to those sleepless night feeds.

No longer is it simply a case of browsing what Facebook Marketplace has suggested. I’ve taken to searching every city, territory, and vehicle term within a 250-mile radius (the most Facebook will allow) in the quest to uncover every single interesting car for sale.

And that’s a bit silly, because a 250-mile search radius also brings up cars located in France. Nothing a quick ferry wouldn’t fix, mind.

What does a night feed search look like? That sounds more sinister than it really is. But a few months back I embarked on a new obsession of all things 4x4 and Japanese, something which remains very strong despite buying an MoT certificate-less MkI Shogun earlier in the year. Unsurprisingly, 35-year-old Japanese 4x4s built in volume aren’t actually that expensive. Rusty? You bet, and if they’ve previously had any audio installed, they’re wired like a tofu IED, but aside from a 60 Series Land Cruiser they’re all still quite affordable.

And here lies the problem of repeated classified searching. A £1k budget quickly jumps up to £2k assuming the seller might come down a bit on the price. Then, a £2k budget somehow becomes £5k just to make sure nothing a little bit overpriced is being missed. And within an hour, you’re now viewing the classifieds with unlimited budget, like you’re an Arab oil tycoon whose investment manager has insisted their portfolio be diversified with Mitsubishi Pajeros.

The issue with Pajeros is there’s one model everyone knows and will reference the moment you say you’ve got any other variation: the Pajero Evolution. So, my logic has decided to bypass this issue by buying one; getting it out the way and then spending the rest of time obtaining all the other weird and wacky variations before they all rust away for good. Farfetched logic at best, but it’s the one I’m sticking with.

Built between 1997 and 1999, the Pajero Evolution was a legitimate homologation special released by Mitsubishi during the peak of its Dakar domination, which saw 12 total victories including seven consecutive wins. Its arches make a Group B Quattro seem tame, its 3.5-litre V6 produces more power than a Honda NSX and it’ll conquer just about any terrain thanks to its locking diffs, stubby wheelbase and huge ground clearance.

I’ve given up trying to justify reasons for buying cars anymore, because a 25-year-old Pajero Evo while you’re not working – let alone tackling adverse terrain – is quite a tricky sell. The only reason I can think is that, with my eldest at nursery all week, it’d be beneficial to have something capable of tackling the 5.6-mile run in case the weather gets really bad. Solid logic, but that’s assuming all the staff at Glendon Montessori also have Pajero Evos... which is optimistic thinking even by my standards.