In a rather bizarre development, the 18-inch machined alloy wheels that will the 5-door Mahindra Thar will come kitted with have gone on sale in an aftermarket shop in Karol Bagh, Delhi. The pictures, which have come up on a forum, show the diamond-cut rims on display at a showroom. This isn’t the first time that parts of an upcoming vehicle have gone on sale in aftermarket shops in Delhi much ahead of the official launch. While quite amusing, the sale of the rims presents an interesting opportunity for current Thar owners to switch to the upcoming model’s wheels.
Mahindra Thar 5-door to be based on the Scorpio N
While the aesthetics of the new SUV, which will likely bring the ‘Armada’ moniker back to life, will be close to that of the 3-door Thar, its underpinnings will come from the Scorpio N. The platform-sharing has resulted in substantially bigger dimensions. In fact, in terms of size, the 5-door Thar seems to be closer to the new-gen Scorpio than the 3-door version. Still, the design will be a lot like what you see on the current off-roader. So, like the existing model, the bigger sibling will have a Wrangler-like look. In fact, the bigger wheelbase and the extra set of doors will result into a larger similarity with the iconic American SUV.
At the front, the Mahindra Thar 5-door will feature a new set of LED headlamps along with a grille that will likely look a bit different to what the current Thar features. Even the alloy wheels are new and feature a premium diamond-cut finish. But much of the soft parts, such as the ORVMs and the hood clamps, have been carried over. All said and done, the larger wheelbase and the overall bigger dimensions should result into a higher street presence along with, of course, a bigger cabin.
Specifications
Even the powertrains will be shared with the Scorpio N. What this means is that the 5-door Thar will offer the grunty 2.0-litre Stallion turbo-petrol and 2.2-litre mHawk turbo-diesel options. Also, the upcoming SUV might get the 1.5-litre mHawk turbo-diesel mill from the Thar 2WD. Both manual and automatic transmission options will be on offer along with the option of 4×4 hardware on select variants. Currently, the 3-door Thar costs Rs 11.35 lakh to Rs 17.60 lakh (ex-showroom), while the Scorpio N costs Rs.13.85 – 24.54 Lakh (ex-showroom). The 5-door Thar Armada is expected to be priced closer to the latter.
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