M&M W201 almost undisguised

Autocar has just got its hands on a barely disguised picture of Mahindra’s new SUV, the W201, which leaves almost nothing to imagination. Yes, some of the zebra-stripe camouflage is in place, but look closely and you will notice the handsome lines and spot-on proportions of the new Mahindra.

The high mounted, swept back headlamps and curved Mahindra grille look very attractive. The rising beltline and tapered roof give it an air of compactness and if Mahindra doesn’t add too many garish details, this almost certainly will be its most attractive product yet, which will be perfect for Mahindra & Mahindra, who is hoping its new generation vehicles will catapult it onto the global stage.

The W201 is also all new under the skin too. This is no ladder frame based SUV. Mahindra’s new product uses an all new monocoque or car-like construction, a transversely located engine and even a front-wheel or four-wheel drive. It will use a 2.2-litre mHawk engine and a new transaxle, specifically developed for the W201 entirely from scratch.

There’s also an all-new, cable-operated gearbox with five- and six-speed options developed with help from Ricardo. Engine power will be increased from 120bhp to 140bhp and torque is estimated to be around 32.6kgm. The company is even evaluating bumping the power up to 170bhp in the future with a twin turbo version. There will also be a lot of goodies like traction control, ESP, and hill descent control as well.

The W201 will be positioned above the Scorpio and hence we expect it to retail for around Rs 14 lakh for the top-end 4x4 version and Rs 13 lakh for the base front-wheel-drive version. Watch this space.