This Is The Rare Mitsubishi Pajero Junior “Flying Pug”

The original plan for the Mitsubishi Pajero Jr “Flying Pug” was to complete a production run of 1,000 examples, but it proved so woefully unpopular that just 139 were made before production was shut down.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Junior that the Flying Pug was based on debuted in 1995 and was produced until 1998. It was a full-featured 4×4 of diminutive proportions, allowing it to slot neatly into Japan’s lower-priced automotive tax brackets. Despite its small size, the Pajero Junior came with air conditioning, ABS, electric windows, electric mirrors, keyless entry, and power steering.

Fast Facts – The Mitsubishi Pajero Junior “Flying Pug”

• The Mitsubishi Pajero Jr “Flying Pug” was a special edition model initially planned to have a production run of 1,000 units. This model, like its predecessors, offered a full range of amenities including air conditioning, ABS, electric windows, power steering, and keyless entry, making it a fully-featured 4×4 despite its smaller stature.
• The Pajero Jr was designed using a lengthened version of the Mitsubishi Minica platform, equipped with a 1,094cc Colt engine, and a four-wheel drive system that included high and low range capabilities for serious off-roading.
• Prior to the Flying Pug, Mitsubishi had great success with the Pajero Junior, leading to the creation of special edition versions including the McTwist and the Lynx, which featured upgrades like wood-effect trim, bull bars, and bolt-on LED lighting.
• Unlike the successful earlier special editions, the Flying Pug was met with a resoundingly poor consumer reception, resulting in only 139 units sold out of the planned 1,000. Its styling, intended to resemble a London Taxi, did it no favors in the Japanese market, leading to its discontinuation.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Junior

The Mitsubishi Pajero Junior was developed as a slightly larger and more practical version of the popular Mitsubishi Pajero Mini, a car designed to fit within Japan’s kei car regulations which strictly govern size, engine displacement, and curb weight.

The Pajero Mini could be ordered in a full four-wheel drive version, allowing Mitsubishi to take advantage of the SUV craze that was flooding across Japan (as well as all major global markets) in the 1980s and into the 1990s. Though it was functional as a 4×4 the Pajero Mini was just a little too small for most, and as a result Mitsubishi set out to create a slightly larger version that wouldn’t be a kei car, but that would still benefit from a lower tax bracket.

The project started using the platform of the Mitsubishi Minica which was lengthened, fitted with the same engine as the Mitsubishi Colt, and given four-wheel drive running gear including a high and low range transfer case for serious off-roading.

The Colt engine was a 1,094cc inline four with a single overhead cam, 16 valves, and 79 bhp at 6,500 rpm giving the vehicle a top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph). Power was sent to the wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission or an optional 3-speed automatic.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Junior was sold over two primary generations, the ZR-I initially from 1995 to 1997 and then the ZR-II from 1997 until the end of production in 1998. The two generations were very similar, there were some body trim updates, and the ZR-II was fitted with a new digital instrument array which included an altimeter, a compass, an outside temperature gauge, and a clock.

The Special Editions

The surging popularity of the Pajero Junior encouraged Mitsubishi to green light two special edition versions, the McTwist and the Lynx. Both vehicles were fairly similar when looking over their spec sheets, offering various bull bars, spotlights, upgraded interior trim including wood-effect trim on the dashboard, a roof spoiler with additional LED lights, and six-spoke alloy wheels.

1,000 of each were commissioned, but there are no publicly available records about how many were made. The seeming success of the McTwist and Lynx special editions seem to have lulled Mitsubishi into a false sense of security, and perhaps during a night out on the town and a few too many afterwork drinks, the executives decided to make another special edition Pajero Junior to capitalize on the then-current trend in Japan towards all things vintage British.

The Arrival Of The Flying Pug

This new Pajero Junior would be called the “Flying Pug,” a surprisingly suitable name given the eventual styling, and the project to produce 1,000 of them was approved. The Flying Pug kept the same roofline, doors, and A-B-and-C pillars as the original car, but was fitted with a new front end, new front and rear fenders, new wheels, and an upgraded interior.

Mitsubishi advertising materials boasted that the new special edition “sported the classic looks of a London taxi,” though sadly it seems that relatively few Japanese wanted to drive around in a strange-looking London taxi lookalike, and sales stalled before they even hit 140 nationwide.

With 139 made, the order was given to cancel the Flying Pug, and it would be the final special edition based on the Pajero Junior as just a year later in 1999 the new Mitsubishi Pajero iO would replace it.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Junior Flying Pug Shown Here

The vehicle you see here is one of those original 139 examples of the Mitsubishi Pajero Junior Flying Pug, it’s been imported into the United States, and it now has 116,044 kms, or approximately 72,106 miles, on the odometer.

This is one of the optional 3-speed automatic versions of the special edition model, and as you would expect, it comes with the full four-wheel drive system, air conditioning, power steering, power windows, power mirrors, ABS, etc.

This Flying Pug is the first we’ve seen come up for sale in the United States, so it’ll be interesting to see what it sells for when it crosses the auction block with Mecum on the 16th of May. If you’d like to read more about the vehicle or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Mecum