“MITSUBISHI COLT F2A”
Mitsubishi has been developing formula cars since the early days of car racing in Japan. Mitsubishi entered the COLT F2A in the 4th Japan Grand Prix in 1967. The car showed overwhelming speed from the qualifying round and finished 1-2 in the final race. I depicted the memorable top battle between Osamu Mochizuki (No.10) and Osamu Masuko (No.11) in sepia tone to make it look impressive. Ken Yamamoto
”MITSUBISHI LANCER”
The Mirage 4-door sedan launched in 1988 was called “Lancer” in foreign countries. The bold round shape from the backlight to the rear end was unique. President Masuko was invited to the 15th anniversary ceremony of one of the overseas dealers, and this painting was presented to the dealer as a commemorative gift. This was the first car this dealer sold, the Lancer Sedan. I painted this in 2006 at the request of Shinichi Oki, the director of Mitsubishi Auto Gallery. However, it was careless of me to know that this car was called “Lancer” in other countries only at that time. Ken Yamamoto
“MITSUBISHI MIRAGE CYBORG”
The Mirage Cyborg was the top-of-the-line sports model of the Mirage 3-door hatchback launched in 1987. This design was a proposal from the California Studio, finished by the Okazaki Design Department. The rounded flush surface treatment was high quality, and the wrap-around window design from the sides to the rear was innovative. It was a bubble-era design, with an aero bumper and rear spoiler as standard equipment. This picture was painted and presented to my colleague who was in charge of this design as a memorial to him when he retired in 2012. He passed away suddenly the following year. It is the only thing that connects my memories of him. Ken Yamamoto
” MITSUBISHI PAJERO PROTOTYPEPajero”
The 1988 10th Dakar Rally was a grueling rally that started in Paris on January 1, covering 13,000 km to Dakar in 22 days. Despite various problems along the way, including the theft of the Peugeot driven by Ali Bhatanen, which held the lead, Pajero No. 215, driven by Kenjiro Shinozuka, drove solidly from start to finish, finishing in second place overall. Ken Yamamoto
“1996 Safari Rally Lancer EVOⅢ”
In the 1996 World Rally Championship (WRC), Tomi Makinen demonstrated his unrivaled overall performance in the Lancer EVO III, winning five of the nine rounds to take the drivers’ championship. In the second round of the Safari Rally, in particular, he won the overall victory after 20 years since the Lancer GSR in 1976, in the harsh and contradictory conditions of the scorching hot savanna with over 70 km of straight roads, which requires the highest speed driving performance in WRC events, and once it rains, the roads turn to mud and require high driving performance over rough roads. Ken Yamamoto
“1997 Dakar Pajero”
In the 1997 Dakar Rally, Mitsubishi Motors simultaneously achieved the first-ever overall victory by a Japanese driver, Kenjiro Shinozuka, and the first-ever sweep of first through fourth places. Shinozuka’s car was a newly developed rally car based on the 2nd-gen. Pajero Short in response to new regulations prohibiting manufacturers from entering prototypes. Since I was in charge of the design of this mass-production model with my senior partner Abe, I was overjoyed when I learned of its victory. Later, I painted this picture to preserve the historical record of the car I was involved with. Ken Yamamoto