by Mitsubishi Motors to further their aspirations in off-road racing, especially the Safari Rally of Kenya. Thanks to repeated triumphs in what was the most gruelling rally in the world, it earned the nickname "King of Cars" in Africa. In rally spec, the GSR produced at 7800 rpm and at 5500 rpm. Street versions originally developed , but this dropped to when tighter emissions standards were introduced for 1976. After sporadic successes with the Colt and Galant rally cars in previous years, Mitsubishi decided to develop a Lancer model specifically to tackle the notorious Safari Rally. Run over 6,000 km of arduous terrain under searing equatorial temperatures, the race was regarded as the toughest in the world, and typically only one car in five which set off from the start would manage to reach the finish line in Nairobi. Mitsubishi sanctioned official factory teams for the 1974–77 events, building for itself an enviable reputation for durability when only one of thirteen cars failed to finish in those four attempts. The high point was a clean sweep of the podium places in 1976. The car had previously demonstrated similar qualities in 1973, with its debut in the Australian Southern Cross Rally being rewarded with a clean sweep of the top four places. Works driver Andrew Cowan would go on to dominate this race in the '70s, winning five consecutive titles from 1972 to '76. Cowan and Joginder Singh also scored a 1–2 finish for the Lancer GSR at the 1977 Rallye Bandama Côte d'Ivoire. Even after production ended it remained a popular car with privateers into the 1980s. However, the decline of endurance rallying and the rise of the Group B class eventually signaled its demise. Van/Wagon As there was no station wagon version of the Lancer EX, the first generation Lancer Van (wagon) continued in production for the home and select export markets until February 1985, by which time the car was conspicuously outmoded. When the 1.2-litre pushrod was replaced in 1975, Vans for the domestic market retained the old Neptune engine for an extra year, and the 1238/1439 cc Saturn engines weren't replaced by Orions until March 1979. The smaller Orion engined version (1.2 L A141V) continued to be available in Greece and Kenya into the eighties. Wagon versions for export received updates on the same schedule as did export sedans/coupés. The domestic market vans received yet another update