The Thar Sports is a tentative name for the SUV, which will feature a monocoque construction
The Mahindra Thar Sports is shaping up to be a rather unique offering from the Indian automobile giant. It will be designed for international markets, including Australia. In essence, it will be a modern monocoque counterpart to the established and iconic Mahindra Thar. Thar is a name synonymous with extreme adventure. In India, we already have the Thar in the 3-door and 5-door (Thar Roxx) avatars. However, it looks like Mahindra isn’t done innovating this nameplate. The Thar Sports will be a sub-4m compact SUV with impressive capabilities.
Mahindra Thar Sports
As per CarSauce, Mahindra officials revealed a bit of information about the upcoming sub-4m SUV to the Australian media during a recent event at Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai. The Australian media mentioned that Mahindra’s President of Automotive Technology & Product Development, Velusamy R, confirmed that the company is in the advanced stages of developing a new SUV. Going by the images, the compact SUV bears a butch and an upright demeanour. At the front, we see round headlamps along with a rugged grille section with a solid bumper and skid plate.
On the sides, there are flush-fitting door handles, a boxy silhouette, relatively creaseless body panels, sturdy body claddings, prominent wheel arches, large alloy wheels with off-roading tyres, black side pillars and an imposing road presence. I can’t help but get reminded of the Thar E Concept. Finally, the tail end is reminiscent of the Land Rover with a flat boot lid with a spare tyre mounted on it, functional roof rails, a chunky bumper and LED taillamps. More details will emerge in the coming days.
Expected Specs
Interestingly, the Mahindra Thar Sports might feature a hybrid powertrain, which could incorporate series-parallel hybrid, plug-in hybrid or range-extender hybrid alternatives. With the latter, we might see a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder mill to power the electric battery, which will, in turn, send power to the electric motor to drive the car. Apart from that, we can expect the familiar 2.0-litre turbo petrol and 2.2-litre turbo diesel mills with manual and automatic transmission options with 2WD and AWD configurations. It is said that the SUV could debut on August 15. Let us keep an eye out for more details in the coming days.
Also Read: Mahindra Thar Roxx Driver Shows What Mistakes Can Damage 4WD System