Mahindra has officially named it's all-new SUV as 'XUV500'. Earlier codenamed as the W201, the XUV500 will go on sale before the end of this calendar year.

Pronounced as XUV '5 double Oh', the new SUV is M&M’s first attempt at a monocoque vehicle, powered by a transverse engine. It has got perfect proportions and looks hunkered down in a way that only monocoque or unibody construction allows.

As seen from our computer-generated images, 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 M&M, who is hoping its new generation vehicles will catapult it onto the global stage.

Under the skin, it will use a transversely located 2.2-litre mHawk engine and a new transaxle, specifically developed for the “XUV500” 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 new XUV500 will be launched initially in India and South Africa and will be subsequently launched in other markets later on. Both two wheel drive and four wheel drive versions will be unveiled together. The XUV500, Mahindra’s most important product, will be positioned above the Scorpio and it could cost around Rs 13 lakh for the base 2WD version.