Andrew Cowan, a Mitsubishi rally driver who scored the company's first international victory at the 1972 Southern Cross Rally, set up Andrew Cowan Motorsports in Rugby in 1983 as a European base for Mitsubishi's motorsport activities. The operation evolved into Ralliart Europe. It entered the WRC full-time for the first time in 1989 with the Mitsubishi Galant VR-4, which won in the hands of Mikael Ericsson in Finland and Pentti Airikkala in Great Britain. Mitsubishi finished fourth in the manufacturers' standings in 1989 and third in 1990. Kenneth Eriksson delivered the team's next win in Sweden in 1991.
For the 1993 season Ralliart Europe introduced the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, though no wins came that year. The Lancer Evolution II arrived mid-1994 and took its first victory the following season at Rally Sweden with Eriksson leading home Mäkinen. The Lancer Evolution III proved potent in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Eriksson winning on it in Australia at a round that counted for both series in 1995. Mäkinen then rose to the top tier of the WRC with the Lancer Evolution IV in 1996, winning five of nine rounds to claim the drivers' championship.
The Evolution IV secured Mäkinen's second title in 1997 with four wins from fourteen rallies. The Evolution V followed during the 1998 season; while Mitsubishi rivals Subaru and Ford had already transitioned to World Rally Car specifications, Mitsubishi continued developing cars to the older Group A regulations. Mäkinen took the Evolution V to victory in Argentina before the car won the final four events of the 1998 season, giving Mäkinen a third consecutive drivers' title and Mitsubishi its only manufacturers' championship thanks to additional wins from Richard Burns.
For 1999 the Lancer Evolution VI arrived with Marlboro sponsorship. Mäkinen won at Monte Carlo on the car's debut, added Sweden, New Zealand, and Sanremo, and claimed a then-record fourth consecutive drivers' title. In 2000, however, the team struggled against rivals now operating World Rally Cars, with Mäkinen winning only once.
Mitsubishi introduced its own World Rally Car, the Lancer WRC, at Rallye Sanremo in 2001 after persisting with Group A regulations for years longer than most rivals. Both Mäkinen and teammate Freddy Loix struggled to harness the new car. Mäkinen suffered a heavy accident that injured co-driver Risto Mannisenmäki, and missed out on the title by a narrow margin. Mäkinen departed for Subaru at the end of 2001.
For 2002 François Delecour and Alister McRae replaced Mäkinen and Loix, but the team scored minimal points and finished last in the manufacturers' standings. Mitsubishi did not compete in 2003 while restructuring its motorsport activities. The team formed Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports (MMSP) GmbH in Trebur, Germany in November 2002 and consolidated previously independent regional operations under that umbrella.
MMSP returned to the WRC in 2003 with Gilles Panizzi leading the lineup; the programme was reduced after ten of fourteen rounds. In 2005 the improved Lancer WRC05 brought Harri Rovanperä to regular points finishes and Panizzi recorded Mitsubishi's first podium since 2001 at Monte Carlo. Mitsubishi finished fifth in the manufacturers' standings. At the end of 2005, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation suspended WRC participation. Limited entries continued in 2006 and 2007 through MMSP support for private drivers. In February 2009 MMSP Ltd was acquired in a management buyout to form MML Sports Ltd.
Mitsubishi used the Pajero to win the Dakar Rally every year from 2004 through 2007 — four consecutive victories. After the 2008 Dakar was cancelled, Mitsubishi developed a new vehicle, the Mitsubishi Racing Lancer, for 2009 but struggled and withdrew from cross-country competition that year. Mitsubishi's total of twelve Dakar wins since 1982 remains a record.
Mitsubishi's WRC legacy rests almost entirely on the Lancer Evolution and on Tommi Mäkinen, whose four consecutive drivers' titles from 1996 to 1999 represent one of the most sustained individual championship runs in the sport. The manufacturers' title in 1998 was the only one Mitsubishi achieved, and the late transition to World Rally Car regulations arguably cost the team any realistic chance of further title challenges. Ralliart's name and identity have since been revived by Mitsubishi Motors for performance road car branding.