Mitsubishi Ralliart

Ralliart Inc.

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Motorsport Automotive engineering
Founded	April 1984
Headquarters	33-7 Shiba 5-Chome, Minato, Tokyo 108-0014
Key people	Andrew Cowan (founder) Doug Stewart (founder) Masao Taguchi (President, Executive Director)
Revenue	¥4,462 million (2005)
Parent	Mitsubishi Motors (100%)
Website	Ralliart.com

Ralliart was the high-performance and motorsports division of Mitsubishi Motors. It was responsible for development and preparation of the company's rally racing and off-road racing vehicles, as well as the development of high-performance models and parts available to the public. Ralliart scaled down its business activities in April 2010, though the brand will continue to be used by Mitsubishi.

Many regional licensees were set up previously. Ralliart Europe was established as Andrew Cowan Motorsports (ACMS) Ltd in 1983 by Andrew Cowan, a driver with the Mitsubishi team who had scored their first international victory in 1972 at the Southern Cross Rally. His team mate at the same event in 1975 and '76, Doug Stewart, set-up Ralliart Australia as the official regional licensee in 1988, after 22 years of experience with the company's cars. The two have subsequently served as operational bases for Mitsubishi's global motorsport activities, and were responsible for MMC's record of achievement in off-road racing, including the 1998 Manufacturers' Championship in the World Rally Championship, four individual Drivers' Championships for Tommi Mäkinen in 1996–99, and a record twelve wins in the Dakar Rally since 1982.

The company established Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports in Trebur, Germany in November 2002, and then consolidated the previously independent licensees under this umbrella in 2003, acquiring ACMS Ltd from Cowan while Mitsubishi Motors Australia took over Stewart's operation.

In 2003, MMSP also purchased the Pont-de-Vaux-based SBM operation, which had been responsible for its cross country rallying activities, to form MMSP SAS.

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Wikipedia