Mahindra is developing an all-new range of petrol engines that will power its future range in India. This new engine range is being co-developed with SsangYong and will also do duty in some of the Korean brand’s future products sold in India and international markets.
This new petrol engine family is expected to include as many as three motors ranging from 1.2 to 1.6 litres in displacement. While most of the engines will be four-cylinder units, the 1.2-litre motor will be a three-cylinder derivative of a larger engine, and will be used in the upcoming Mahindra compact SUV, codenamed S102. The Mahindra S102 is an all-new compact SUV which will be positioned below the Quanto. This engine will also be used by the upcoming SsangYong X100 SUV.
“We are going to launch a new car called X100 which will have a majority of gasoline engines. We are sourcing it with Mahindra; this new four-cylinder engine will be converted to a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder for the S102 by Mahindra,” said Yoo Il Lee, SsangYong president and CEO.
To keep costs low, common parts will be used across this new engine range, which is being developed for Euro VI application and beyond. While the engine development is co-operation between Mahindra and its Korean affiliate, it’s the parent company that will take the lead in this ambitious programme. Hence, the bulk of development will be carried out at Mahindra Research Valley (MRV), the company’s state-of-the-art R&D facility outside Chennai. Engine specialists AVL of Austria are believed to be consultants for this project.