Mahindra launches new variant of Thar ahead of Auto Expo

Blazing Bronze color of the New Thar

Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra has introduced a new range of its popular offroader Thar. At a starting price of Rs 9.99 lakh, the company seeks to make the range more accessible to a larger set of consumers, M&M said in a statement on January 9.

The launch comes two days ahead of the Auto Expo 2023, which the company will give a miss along with other big names such as Skoda, Volkswagen and Nissan as well as luxury car makers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. India's flagship automobile show will be held from January 11 to 18 in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida.

“To make our offering even better, we listened to our customers and engineered the new range of the Thar with important enhancements. By offering the new RWD (Rear Wheel Drive) variants, we have made it much more accessible to those who wanted to live the ‘Thar life'," Veejay Nakra, president, automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said.

The new range of the Thar is available in two RWD variants and comes with enhanced capability in the Four Wheel Drive (4WD) variants, the company said.

Galaxy Grey color of the new Thar

The diesel-powered options in the RWD variant comes with a new D117 CRDe engine producing 117 BHP and 300 Nm torque (87.2 kW@3500 rpm) with manual transmission.

The petrol variant is the mStallion 150 TGDi engine with 150 BHP and 320 Nm torque (112 kW@5000 rpm) with automatic transmission, the release said.

The 4WD version of the SUV has been equipped with an advanced electronic brake locking differential. The technology for the brake has been developed in collaboration with Bosch. These engines are offered with a choice of 6-speed manual transmission or 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

“The Mahindra Thar is not just a capable SUV, it is an emotion. Since 2020, the all-new Thar has captured the imagination of SUV lovers with over 80,000 fans exploring the impossible every day," Nakra said.

The new Thar range comes in Blazing Bronze and Everest White. The automobile manufacturer has also introduced new accessory packs, and exterior and interior styling options – in four different designs.