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Mahindra has been testing the upcoming 5-door Thar for nearly a year and a half now, and while we have already reported to you with several spy images, a new sighting of the interior shows some additional features that the 5-door SUV will get over its 3-door sibling. The 5-door is expected to go on sale by the middle of next year.

1. 5-door Thar to get larger touchscreen, sunroof
2. Will also get front seat armrest and rear AC vents
3. Likely to carry forward petrol and diesel engines from 3-door Thar

Mahindra Thar 5-door interior spied

As we have already reported, the biggest update to the 5-door Thar’s interior will be a larger touchscreen in a new housing, possibly a 10-inch unit with improved interface and graphics. This will necessitate a slight redesigned of the dashboard, but the AC vents, HVAC controls and band of toggle switches at the bottom, as seen in these images, will be carried forward unchanged. The band of physical buttons and a rotary dial below the screen have also been retained from the regular Thar.

The newer revelation is that there will be individual armrests for the front seats as well second-row AC vents, both of which are missing from the 3-door Thar. And while this test mule comes fitted with dummy seats at the rear, it remains to be seen if Mahindra offers a regular bench seat or two individual seats as in the regular Thar.

Other additions of note over the regular Thar could be an improved instrument cluster with a larger MID (possibly from the Scorpio N), a dashboard camera as well as a single-pane sunroof that’s clearly visible in these images. The 5-door Thar will only be offered in a hardtop guise with a fixed roof.

The 7-inch screen on the Thar 3-door has been criticised for its mediocre interface and display, and also for its relatively smaller size – 8-inch units are pretty much the norm on almost every other mainstream car or SUV. We expect the larger touchsreen infotainment to be added to the Thar 3-door as well at some point in the future.

Also See: Mahindra Thar Armada among 7 names trademarked for upcoming SUV

With the Thar 5-door, Mahindra will be targetting SUV buyers who want a practical vehicle that can be used for daily commutes as well as for off-road use. Therefore, a longer features list and more creature comforts will be crucial to set it sufficiently apart from its 3-door sibling that’s a focused off-roader. Camouflaged test mules have also hinted at a slightly altered design to set it apart from its 3-door sibling.

Mahindra Thar 5-door powertrain options

Under the hood, the 5-door Thar is likely to retain the current 2.2-litre diesel and 2.0-litre petrol engines, mated to the same 6-speed manual and auto gearboxes. The off-road hardware will also be carried forward, but owning to the longer wheelbase and additional weight, there will be changes to the suspension setup.

The 5-door Thar is expected to debut sometime around mid-2024, and is expected to be priced considerably higher than the regular Thar, likely in the Rs 16 lakh-20 lakh (ex-showroom) range.

Image Source 

Also See:

Next-gen Bolero to get multiple seating options

SCOOP! Mahindra XUV300 EV coming by June 2024 as Nexon EV rival

Mahindra XUV300 facelift to go on sale by February 2024

The very first crash test results from the Indian government’s Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP) have been announced, with both Tata Harrier and Safari securing a 5-star rating. The organisation has been conducting tests since December 15 and has just revealed the first batch of results.

1. Harrier, Safari score high on adult and child protection
2. Score and rating similar to the one received from Global NCAP
3. Bharat NCAP and Global NCAP norms overlap for the most part

Tata Harrier, Safari crash test results

The Harrier and Safari both secured 30.08/32 points for adult occupant protection (AOP) and 44.54 out of a maximum of 49 for child occupant protection (COP), which have helped get that 5-star rating. While the SUVs scored perfectly in the side movable deformable barrier test, the protection for the chest region in the frontal offset deformable barrier test proved to be less than ideal.

Interestingly, these two SUVs had also been awarded a 5-star rating in Global NCAP’s crash tests, and had been given very similar scores for AOP and COP. There’s more on that here.

Difference between Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP

For all intents and purposes, there’s very little that separates the two ratings and the processes implemented by each organisation. One of the major differences, though, is that under Global NCAP, the maximum score that can be attained for AOP is 34 points, while under Bharat NCAP, it is 32 points. Other than this, the crash test protocols and assignment of ratings seem to be quite similar.

Also see:

Tata Harrier, Safari Global NCAP crash test results video

Tata Motors to launch three new SUVs in 2024

Cooper Webster has won the first ever Formula 4 (F4) Indian Championship after securing a total of eight race wins, nine podiums and 244.5 points. This is the 20-year-old Australian’s first race car championship victory; he started off his motorsport career as a sim racer before switching to real-life racing last year.

• Webster wins total of eight races
• Rajeev finishes second overall

The F4 Indian Championship made its debut this year, featuring the FIA-homologated Gen 2 Mygale F4 car (also used in the French F4 championship) run by MP Motorsport. Along with a bunch of up-and-coming national talent, the championship also attracted a number of international racers it offered Super Licence points, which are necessary to qualify to race in F1.

Quite a few tweaks were made to the calendar since the Hyderabad and Chennai street races were cancelled. This left the inaugural season with a total of four rounds, all of which were held at the Madras International Circuit.

Cooper started the season on a strong note, but encountered a few hiccups, mainly due to tyre issues. Nevertheless, he headed into the finale with a lead of 44.5 points over Akshay Bohra. He put himself in prime position to win the title after securing pole position in both qualifying sessions. Qualifying 1 set the grid for Race 1, while Qualifying 2 set the grid for Race 3. The results of the two races then set the grids for Races 2 and 4, with the top six positions reversed.

He converted both pole positions into race wins (Races 1 and 3), securing enough points to win the championship with a lead of 62.5 points over Rishon Rajeev.

Rajeev won Race 2, ahead of Alex Sawer and Webster after Rishab Jain was handed a 30 secs post-race penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. The final race of the season was won by Shahan Ali Mohsin, ahead of Sawer and Rajeev.

“We had trouble at the beginning with the first couple of rounds with tyre issues and what not. But I put my head down and worked hard, and found some really good pace at the end of the season. So yeah, I’m really stoked about getting my first championship in race cars and also working with MP [Motorsport]; what an amazing squad they are,” said Cooper. “I’ve enjoyed my time here in India and I’m looking forward to next year where I’m going into Euro Cup 3.”

Also see:

F4 India Chennai street race pushed to 2024 due to Cyclone Michaung

F4 India debuts in Chennai; Webster makes strong start

The Range Rover Sport has been on sale in India for about one and half years now, but so far it was only available with 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol and diesel mild-hybrid engine options. Now, Land Rover has officially listed prices of the flagship Range Rover Sport SV variant, as well as the 3.0-litre plug-in hybrid petrol on its India website. Dealers say once booked, it will take 6-8 months for either of these variants to be delivered.

1. Flagship Range Rover Sport gets 635hp, 4.4-litre V8 engine
2. Plug-in hybrid gets a claimed EV-only range of 123km
3. Deliveries to take 6-8 months post booking

Here’s a look at the detailed price of the new V8 and PHEV variants of Range Rover Sport:

Range Rover Sport SV

Pushing out 635hp and 800Nm from a 4.4-litre, twin-turbocharged BMW-sourced V8 engine, this is the most powerful Range Rover yet. It does the 0-100kph sprint in 3.8 seconds, and can go on to a top-speed of 290kph. It drives all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic gearbox. 

There are subtle design changes over the regular Sport model, which includes wider front and rear tracks, increased camber, a new front bumper and grille treatment, side skirts and a rear bumper with dual twin exhausts. The new front treatment is partly necessitated by the increased cooling requirements of the V8 engine and the brakes.

Inside, the SV has new seats with integrated head restraints, and a new design for the steering wheel – smaller, thicker rim with clearly moulded hand positions. It also incorporates an SV button to activate the personalised drive mode. The integrated head restraints make it onto the two rear chairs too, but otherwise, the interior architecture largely continues unchanged.

Range Rover Sport PHEV

The other addition is the plug-in hybrid variant that’s powered by a 3.0-litre, 6-cylinder engine that’s coupled with a 38.2kWh battery pack. Total system output stands at 460hp and 660Nm of torque, has a top-speed of 225kph, and can sprint from 0-100kph in 5.5 seconds. The battery pack takes five hours to fully charge using a 7kW AC charger, and it returns an electric-only range of 123km (WLTP cycle). This powertrain also comes mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox, sending power to all four wheels.

The plug-in hybrid powertrain is only available in top-spec Autobiography trim, but while it doesn’t get any exterior or interior cosmetic updates, it comes fully loaded with all the bells and whistles. These include digital LED headlights, panoramic sunroof, 22-inch alloy wheels, ambient lighting, four-zone climate control, illuminated scuff plates, 22-way powered front seats with ventilation and message, head-up display, 360-degree camera and much more.

The Range Rover Sport SV joins the likes of other super SUVs in the country such as the Lamborghini Urus, Audi RS Q8 and Aston Martin DBX. The PHEV, meanwhile, does not have any direct rival in India.

Also See:

Ferrari 812 successor due next year; will continue with V12 engine

The Government of India’s Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP) has completed its first round of crash testing, with results expected this week or by the end of this month. This will help buyers make a more informed purchase decision. Bharat NCAP tests were supposed to begin on October 15th, but were pushed back to December 15th due to the busy holiday season.

While testing agencies have already submitted their evaluations, the formal process of assigning star ratings from 1-5 will be announced by the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) Pune, which is the programme manager for the car assessment plan.

1. Hyundai, Kia, Maruti and more have submitted cars for tests
2. Bharat NCAP to test ICE, CNG and EVs
3. Bharat NCAP test costs Rs 60 lakh; overseas test costs Rs 2.5 crore

Bharat NCAP results

Mahmood Ahmed, additional secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, told our sister publication Autocar Professional that the “government’s BNCAP programme is on track. We are hoping to share the results as soon as possible, which could be this week or before the end of the year.”

According to Autocar Professional, senior government officials are considering holding a mega event at which Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Bharat NCAP officials will likely announce the ratings. However, the plan is currently being debated, which explains why the ratings are yet to be announced on the BNCAP website.

Prominent manufacturers who have submitted their models for the first round of crash tests include Hyundai, Kia, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra, Toyota and others. Bharat NCAP is a voluntary programme which tests the base variant of each car.

Bharat NCAP testing process

As part of the test regimen, Bharat NCAP conducts Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP) tests on vehicles weighing up to 3,500kg, and gives them a safety rating between zero and five. However, while Global NCAP gives a separate rating for AOP and COP, Bharat NCAP will give a unified rating. The vehicles are picked at random by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) from authorised dealerships.

The crash test ratings of Bharat NCAP will apply to vehicles holding type approval, spanning across models with a seating capacity of up to eight, including the driver. Government officials went on to say that the testing regime includes evaluating and rating CNG, electric, and internal combustion engine vehicles. According to the guidelines, the testing agencies will conduct the frontal impact test at 64kph, the side impact test at 50kph and the pole side-impact test at 29kph.

During the programme’s launch, Gadkari had stated that over 30 models have already been nominated for testing, and added that a BNCAP test will cost Rs 60 lakh, while an overseas tests costs roughly Rs 2.50 crore.

Also See:

Bharat NCAP and Global NCAP: differences and similarities explained

Opinion: With Bharat NCAP out, it’s time for a road safety rating

On the 40th anniversary of the iconic car, Bhargava gets candid on some rare, behind-the-scenes action of the company’s extraordinary journey.

Published On Dec 15, 2023 06:56:00 PM

Fairytale-like tales of the automobile industry don’t come any better than that of Maruti. It’s the car company that put our entire nation on wheels with the little 800. So 40 years ago, on December 14, 1983, when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi handed over the key to the first Maruti 800 to Indian Airlines employee Harpal Singh – after he paid a measly Rs 47,500 – little did he or anyone imagine that Indian roads would never be the same again. This humble home on wheels went on to become a symbol of mobility that conquered our roads.

Hormazd: Mr Bhargava, you were there when the car was launched, that momentous occasion when Indira Gandhi handed over the key to Harpal Singh. Did you ever imagine what a revolution the Maruti 800 would spark? 

Bhargava: You’re absolutely right. In December 1983, when the car was launched, I don’t think anyone anywhere had any inkling of what it would lead to – for the automobile industry in India, for our component industry, for manufacturing in India or for the whole concept of customer centricity that we now all talk about [it was virtually an unknown word back then]. And how India would transform from being known for poor quality and manufacturing into a hub whose products, including a sophisticated one like a car, are accepted in the best of markets the world over.

Hormazd: What makes the Maruti story even more captivating is that the government never planned to make a car. Do you think it was Sanjay Gandhi’s tragic death in a plane crash that made Maruti an emotional project for his mother?

Bhargava: If Sanjay Gandhi hadn’t passed away in that accident, there would have been no joint venture of this kind. We can only imagine what the state of automobiles in India would have been. After 1993 [when the automobile industry was delicensed], companies would have come in, but would the industry have grown the way it did? Because the way the component industry grew, the way small cars boosted the growth of motorisation in India, it would never have happened with the bigger multinationals. In fact, one of the reasons multinationals flocked to India back then was that we were the only country with a well-established, developed component industry. Look at the size of the component industry today, it’s unbelievable. It exports more than USD 20 billion worth of components at present.

Hormazd: Tell us about your experience during the negotiations with Suzuki. 

Bhargava: We started our negotiations with Suzuki in April 1982; it took over two months to put all the licence agreements in place, and we finally signed the agreement in October 1982. While negotiating, we told Osamu Suzuki that we had to close the deal by October of that year. Suzuki was taken aback and didn’t think it could be done because they had been in talks with General Motors for two years at the time. But I insisted that we close it by August so that I could return to India and get the required government clearances.

The Japanese still have a relatively conservative mindset, and as a company, they have their own legal processes as well. We didn’t have a lawyer with us during the negotiations. It was just me and DS Gupta [marketing director, Maruti], with V Krishnamurthy [chairman of Maruti] in the background. Suzuki himself didn’t join any of the negotiations. All he said was to come to him if there was a problem or disagreement. We would travel to Tokyo frequently because Suzuki’s lawyer was based there. Our visits ranged from as long as two weeks to as short as an hour, after which we would return to India, and they would visit us for the next round of discussions. It was a continuous process, but we did manage to get the agreement completed and then pushed it through various government departments. We had no choice but to get it done by October 2, 1982.

Hormazd: Suzuki took just a 26 percent stake at the beginning of the joint venture. How did they arrive at that figure?

Bhargava: Suzuki had a limit on how much money they could put in. Also worried about the risks, they said the total cost of the project must be limited to USD 200 million, and that they would only take 25 percent equity. No more. Everything in the project had to be done within that cost.

Hormazd: But why 25 percent and not 26 percent? It would have been strategically better as that would have given them special rights and the power to block some key decisions.

Bhargava: Actually, from the very beginning, the government had directed us to get 40 percent foreign equity in the project. They, in fact, had refused to sign this agreement for just 25 percent. So we informed Suzuki of the Companies Act and about the additional rights they would have if they went from 25 to 26 percent in acquisition. This also garnered me a great deal of trust, as the guy helping them understand things they weren’t aware of. Next, I tried to convince them to jump to 40 percent from 26 percent. So we came up with a compromise: Suzuki agreed to increase to 40 percent, but over a period of five years, starting with an initial 26 percent stake. So that allowed the government to hold its own, and we got our 40 percent.

Hormazd: After tasting success for five years, Suzuki must have been delighted to raise their investment to 40 percent.

Bhargava: At that time, they were only too happy. They would have pumped in more funds to go even higher. I don’t think they anticipated the response we got. When we prepared a budget and projected a profit, Suzuki asked us, “How long have you guys been in the automobile industry?” I told him we had never been in the field, to which he responded saying we clearly knew nothing about it because this wasn’t how things worked! “You don’t make a profit in the first year. You don’t get customers to book cars they have never seen or are even in production,” he had said. I told him then that if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t, but there was no harm trying. What did we have to lose? So when we got 1,20,000 bookings [within the first year], they were shocked!

Hormazd: But you couldn’t have fulfilled all those orders because you had capacity limits, right?

Bhargava: Our target was to make 20,000 cars in the first year, 40,000 in the next. The whole production plan had to be changed. The ratio between the vehicles had to be changed completely because it was all passenger cars. Vans were only a small part of the business.

Hormazd: Why couldn’t you increase capacity?

Bhargava: Despite such long waiting lists, we couldn’t raise the capacity at Maruti till 1992-’93 because it needed foreign exchange. Plus, nobody was willing to release the money it would require. Where was foreign exchange? We were in a crisis in 1991, and we’re talking about 1985 to 1991. How were we expected to get the money to set up a car plant? Even in 1991, the government had said we could expand only if we got a foreign loan to cover the cost. So we approached Axiom Bank in Japan and got aid to finance the foreign exchange part of our expansion. That’s how we got our next line in Gurgaon. Until then, we had to live with shortages.

Hormazd: What are your takeaways today, 40 years after delivering the first Maruti 800?  

Bhargava: The most important of the lot is realising that we lose an enormous amount of knowledge and people’s capabilities because we don’t value experience as a form of learning; we only value academic degrees. If you train people on ways to channel their learnings, correctly utilise their experience and motivate them, it would add a lot of value to our functioning. Even the best of engineers can’t do this. When I say you must leverage the experiences of those who actually do the work, then you must be willing to make changes so they are motivated to listen to you, to learn from you and contribute to your company. You can’t do this if you take all the credit for what’s happening in the company.

Hormazd: How did Maruti get such an efficient workforce? Was it just the Japanese company systems and work culture, or more?

Bhargava: It was a number of factors. In fact, that’s part of what my new book is going to be all about. How did Maruti become different? What motivated the guys to work differently from what others were doing? Yes, our extensive exposure to Japan and training in Japan played a major role, and Suzuki’s support to Maruti was unparalleled. I don’t think the head of any car company does what he did. The level of interest he took, the amount of time he devoted to the project was amazing.

Hormazd: Lastly, which is your favourite Maruti car of all time? The model closest to your heart.

Bhargava: All models are special to me. Maruti, in itself, is special to me. But there’s no question that the car that drove our success, that drove India’s motorisation and made a car accessible to a large section of our population, was the Maruti 800. It symbolises India’s transformation from an old, obsolete car market to a modern automobile industry. No other model has played such a significant role in any auto market the world over.

Also See:

Maruti 800 @ 40

Maruti 800 40th birthday tribute video

R.C. Bhargava on Maruti’s 40-year journey in India: video

Copyright (c) Autocar India. All rights reserved.

The 11th edition of The Valley Run saw over 700 participants and 11,800 spectators gather at the Aamby Valley airstrip for three days of thrilling drag racing. The fastest times of the event were set by Fahim Zahran on his Suzuki Hayabusa and Vicky Sawant in his BMW M5.

1. Fastest car: BMW M5 (Vicky Sawant), 9.971secs
2. Fastest bike: Suzuki Hayabusa (Fahim Zahran), 9.359secs
3. Fastest female rider: Shweta Chithrode (Suzuki Hayabusa), 9.904secs

The Valley Run 2023: Fastest cars, bikes

Since the first edition held in 2013, The Valley Run has grown to become the crowning glory of India’s drag racing scene. Fahim Zahran set the fastest time of the 2023 edition, with a time of 9.359secs astride a Suzuki Hayabusa he personally tuned. As for the cars, Vicky Sawant set the fastest time of 9.971secs behind the wheel of a BMW M5 tuned by Super Car Club Garage.

Roshan Reddy completed the quarter-mile run in 11.712secs to take home the title of Fastest Indian Car of the Event, while Shahrukh Khan set a time of 11.622secs on his tuned Kawasaki Ninja 400 to clinch the title of Fastest Indian Bike of the Event.

There was also a big turnout from female racers. Uvashri Kannadasan Balajeyanthi and Shreya Singh took top honours in the cars classes. Over in the bikes classes, Shweta Chithrode and Samantha D’Souza emerged as the fastest female riders.

Along with the main drag races, the event also hosted a variety of special segments including drifting and stunt shows by Bad Boi Drifts and JK Tyre. At the end of three days of hard-fought racing, the trophies were handed out, and the event was made possible by the help of partners AMG Performance, JK Tyre, Monster Energy, Castrol Power1, Indian Oil XP100, Super Select, Cloud9, Paytm Insider and Inovexic.

“The 11th edition of The Valley Run was one of the biggest editions of the decade-old series. It had its lows and extreme highs. It also had racing incidents and the safety precautions taken showed how important it is for an event of this scale to move ahead without serious repercussions,” said Rongom Tagore Mukerji, director of Elite Octane (organiser of The Valley Run) and promoter of The Elite Cup.

“The Valley Run remains to be one of the most challenging events to execute at a remote location, but, at the same time, it’s special for the entire racing community. I would like to thank the participants for the tremendous support and patience, sponsors along with special guests. Lastly, the core team deserves all the accolades as their relentless efforts ensured that we could conclude the race classes successfully.”

Elite Cup 2023 results

The 2023 Valley Run also doubled up as the final round of the The Elite Cup. Launched earlier this year, the series consisted of three high-profile drag racing events across the country. The first two rounds were held in Hosur and Hyderabad.

The Bajaj Chetak, the electric scooter from the Pune-based Bajaj Auto, has surpassed the 1,00,000-unit sales milestone in the Indian EV market. Launched in January 2020, the Chetak EV has taken 47 months to achieve cumulative sales of 1,04,200 units as of end-November 2023, as per SIAM wholesales industry data. 

What’s notable is that 60 percent of the total 1,04,200 units have come in the first eight months of FY2024, reflective of the growing demand for the zero-emission Bajaj on two wheels. These 62,991 units sold in April-November 2023 are a handsome 172 percent increase over April-November 2022 (23,160 units), and 31,556 units more than the cumulative sales of FY2023 (31,435 units).

On the cumulative wholesales front in the ongoing fiscal year, Bajaj Auto is just 5,229 units behind Ather Energy, the No. 3 OEM after Ola Electric and TVS Motor Co (1,32,894 units). The company clocked its best-ever monthly sales in the festive month of October 2023: 12,137 units.

On the retail front, as per Vahan data, Bajaj Auto sold more Chetaks than Ather Energy e-scooters in the past two months. The legacy player maintains its newly claimed No. 3 rank with best-ever monthly sales of 11,668 units in November, up 29 percent, month-on-month (October 2023: 9,052 units). The scooter had a market share of 13 percent in November, quite a jump from the 4 percent it had in January 2023.

Bajaj looks to expand Chetak network

Bajaj is looking to ramp up production as well as expand its network of exclusive Chetak showrooms. The Chetak network, which has a presence in 141 cities across India, is to be expanded to 250 cities by March 2024.

The Bajaj Chetak is powered by a 2.9kWh battery, has a certified range of 108km on a single charge and a top speed of 63kph. The Chetak Premium’s highlights include a two-tone seat, body-coloured rear view mirrors, a satin black grab rail and matching pillion footrest castings. The Bluetooth-enabled Chetak app facilitates tamper alert, geofencing and over-the-air updates.

Earlier this month, Bajaj Auto launched a new avatar of the Chetak called the Urbane, costing Rs 1,15,000 in its standard form, and Rs 1,21,000 for an additional ‘Tecpac’, which unlocks more features and performance. The company website lists the Chetak Urbane as having slightly higher range (113km) than the current Chetak (108km). However, in the case of the Urbane, this is the IDC-certified range, while for the current Chetak Premium, 108km is its claimed real-world range (its IDC rating is 126km). The new Chetak Urbane gets the same 2.9kWh battery capacity as the current model.

The Chetak Urbane utilises the same colour LCD display as the Premium variant. In standard form, the Urbane offers a 63kph top speed, and comes with only one riding mode – Eco. With the ‘Tecpac’ installed, top speed rises to 73kph and the user gets a Sport riding mode as well.

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Aprilia RS 457 launched at Rs 4.1 lakh

Kawasaki W175 Street launched at Rs 1.35 lakh