SCOOP! Mahindra’s future products

Mahindra & Mahindra is developing a new generation of vehicles which the company hopes will catapult it onto the global stage. Mahindra is taking a leap into unfamiliar territory by developing a monococque, front-wheel-drive vehicle, a first in M&M’s 60-year history.

There’s also the task of refreshing existing products like the Xylo, Bolero and Scorpio and also developing new ones with Reva and on the Logan platform which the company also acquired. We take a look by uncovering Mahindra’s future models for the next three years.

The Scorpio will no longer be Mahindra’s flagship model. The newly developed SUV – code named W201 – will soon be the company’s flagship and the next big thing after the Scorpio. Our computer-generated images show you what to expect. Reliable sources tell us that these images are about 80 percent accurate and that the W201 is even better looking in the flesh.

Under the skin will be a transversely fitted 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. As a result, in the W201, the power has gone up from 120bhp to around 140bhp and torque to an estimated 32.6kgm. The company is even evaluating bumping the power up to 170bhp in the future with a twin turbo. Both front-wheel-and four-wheel-drive configurations will be offered at launch and there will be lots of other goodies like traction control, ESP, and hill descent control as options.

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. Of course, no price has been decided yet but Mahindra will be closely watching the response to the Aria before taking any decision.

Next in-line is the S101 – the Nano of SUVs. This is possibly the most exciting product on the M&M drawing board – a compact SUV with dimensions of less than four metres to qualify as a small car. M&M has a very ambitious target price of Rs 3 lakh for the S101 and hopes that it will become the Nano of SUVs. Engine options are not clear but a sub-60bhp, 1.1-litre, two-cylinder motor derived from the mHawk is a possibility. Most of the design work for the S101 is complete and it is ready to move to the prototype stage.

Subsequently the S102 – an upmarket version of the S101 will be launched. The S102 is expected with a three-cylinder, 1.5-litre version of the mHawk motor that could develop close to 140bhp! Mahindra wants a compact SUV with sporting credentials to appeal to buyers in Europe and other markets too. In India too, there would be a lot of takers if it’s priced correctly. 

Mahindra is also planning a wide range of variants on the Xylo platform being launched between 2010-12. The single/double-cab Xylo (code name: U202) is essentially for the export market. The main engineering changes were the loading floor, which needed to be changed to one piece, and a rollover bar was fitted at the back.

Next on the platter is the compact version or the sub-four-metre version of the Xylo (code named: U203) with the same 1.5-litre, three-cylinder engine that will power the S102. Apart from being shortened, the U203 gets a face-lift too and the front end has been toned down to make it look more like an MPV than an SUV. March 2011 is when it should be on roads for an estimated Rs 5 lakh.

The current Xylo with the mHawk engine (code name: U205) is ready for launch but its market introduction has been delayed.

M&M’s designers aren’t wasting any time and are working on the Xylo 2 (code name: U206) or the refreshed version. The toned-down grille will be similar to the U203 or compact Xylo and the B- and C-pillars will be blackened to break the Xylo’s considerable mass.

Mahindra’s old warhorse, the Bolero, will be further refreshed. However, the changes will be kept to a minimum to keep costs in check for the Bolero to remain price-competitive. A low-cost-common-rail (LCCR) engine which is an adaptation of the Bolero’s current MDI motor is also on the cards.

The Scorpio too will get more sting, but no dramatic changes are expected anytime soon - the SUV will be finely honed to make it better. The W104 is the US version of the Scorpio that’s being developed but the call to launch it in the US market will only be taken after gauging response to the W408 or the double-cab pick-up for North America. A more ambitious project is T026 or the lightweight Scorpio where a weight reduction target of 150kg has been set with the use of more high-strength materials and plastics.

In addition to the new and refreshed SUVs, Mahindra has also announced that it will be launching a shortened version of the Logan in late 2011 after rebranding the car. However, the Logan platform offers endless possibilities and Mahindra is understood to be designing a seven-seat crossover vehicle on this platform. However, the rights to spin off other derivatives from the platform, apart from than the Logan, have still to be discussed with Renault.

The next three years could see Mahindra launch a range of products from a Rs 3 lakh compact SUV to the upmarket Rs 14 lakh W201. This kind of product portfolio will see the company leveraging its strenghts and plugging every niche possible. Looks like it is on track to remain India’s biggest utility vehicle manufacturer.