Nashik: Homegrown Utility Vehicle maker, Mahindra and Mahindra launched its much anticipated seven/eight seater passenger vehicle Marazzo. It is available at a starting price of Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom) for its base M2 variant and prices go all the way up to Rs 13.90 lakh for the top trim M8 model.
The Mahindra Marazzo which was four years in the making features the world’s first combination of a transverse engine mated to a ladder frame chassis, in a production vehicle.
Mahindra says this combination offers the dual advantages of ‘go-anywhere’ ability that a ladder frame chassis provides and weight-saving, as the need for a propeller shaft is negated in a vehicle with transversely mounted engine.
The word Marazzo means shark in Basque, a language spoken in the northern parts of Spain.
A $200 million shark
Speaking about the production process, chairman of Mahindra Group Anand Mahindra said $200 million has gone into the R&D, design and engineering of the car from the bottom up.
He said, “This is the first time that we have designed a product made for India in Detroit at the Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA). This product is a collaboration of MANA for engineering, Mahindra Research Valley (MRV) in Chennai for R&D and the Italian brand Pininfarina for design.”
Talking more about the design, managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra, Pawan Goenka said, “The transversely mounted engine, apart from reducing weight, also makes way for a lot of space saving. The absense of a propeller shaft has also allowed the designers to reduce the height of the car, facilitating easy ingress and egress for passengers. The suspension travel at the rear is also the highest in its class.”
Powertrain and chassis
The car comes in four variants, all powered by a 1.5 litre four cylinder Diesel engine with a 6-speed manual transmission, producing 121 BHP peak power. The engine is considerably lighter in weight at 141.13 kg. The powertrain produces 300 NM torque at 1700 RMP.
Goenka said that 93 per cent of the torque is available between 1,600 to 2,500 RPM. Mahindra claims a fuel efficiency of 17.3 kmpl with a real-world efficiency ranging from 12-15 kmpl.
Features
Goenka said that Marazzo has 52 per cent of high tension pressed steel in its construction. On the safety side, Marazzo has dual front airbags, disk brakes and ABS on all four wheels across all variants. Mahindra claims that the car has the best air conditioner in the segment as well.
Marazzo also offers twin chamber projector headlamps, 17-inch alloys, touchscreen infotainment with Android auto and driver infotainment and voice control systems in its variants.
What’s next?
Marazzo is currently available in six colour schemes. Goenka said the company has plans to launch a petrol variant and automatic transmission options to both petrol and diesel engines once BSVI norms kick in, in 1.5 years.