Man Builds All-Electric Mahindra Major Replica With Impeccable Attention To Detail [Video]

Mahindra has huge fan following in India. Many of its models like the Thar, Major, CJ, Commander etc enjoy huge acceptance here. India is also home to people who build honest replicas. One such example is this- an all-electric Mahindra Major look-alike. A man from Vellathooval, Idukki (a district in Kerala) has built a replica EV that does absolute justice to the original SUV. In a video shared by 'Fasttrack by Manorama Online', we get to see the vehicle in detail.

Mahindra Major Electric Replica: A Closer Look At It

The creator of this replica isn't an engineer or a high-ranking technician by profession. He is just a common man with a strong passion for Mahindra vehicles, the Major in particular. Through careful and tasteful use of his skills, he handcrafted what looks like a masterpiece! This project was made for his cousin's kids. It took him around 8 months to complete the build.

The electric vehicle stays true to the original major. A strong focus has been placed on the attention to detail. It looks like a scaled-down version of the original SUV. The replica sources some of its parts from the original Major. Examples would be the indicator lamps and air vents on the side. Many parts have, however, been tweaked and resized to fit the smaller proportions of the EV.

Most of the body panels have been handcrafted- fabricated at the creator's home. Even the chassis has been built manually. The vehicle uses 12-inch wheels sourced from Tata Ace. The front and rear bumpers, wheel arches, and windscreen frame are all hand-made. The hood latches come from the original Major. The headlamps and their domes come from Yamaha RX100.

If you want to see the attention to detail on this replica, take a look at the grille. The 7-slot grille has smooth edges and also shows a radiator (sourced from Maruti Omni) behind it. What is a radiator doing on an electric vehicle? Nothing! It is there just to draw the build closer to the original... There's even a component that looks like the breather on the actual turbocharged Major. The front windshield can be opened, just like the original SUV. The wipers and lights are all functional.

It was the chassis that was made first. After getting the alignment sorted, the suspension and leaf-set were installed. Then the rest of the bodywork and powertrain were designed and installed. The creator says that the toughest job was to get the gearbox and Four Wheel Drive (4WD) sorted, particularly to get the torque right on all four wheels.

The powertrain consists of four Lead-Acid batteries (12V, 60Ah each) and a 1200W BLDC motor which was bought online. The output from this is channelled to all four wheels (switchable via a manual lever, just like how you'd do on a regular Major) through a 4-speed transmission and 4WD hardware. The engineering involved in this looks smart.

The front and rear differentials have been sourced from Maruti Omni. When driven in the fourth gear, this replica can do its top-speed of 25 kph. There is even an energy regeneration mechanism involved, which gives a total range of around 100 km per charge.

The front seats have been sourced from a pre-owned Maruti car, and the rear units are fully hand-made. Even the front seats have been re-upholstered and redesigned.

The creator says that the entire project costed him around 3 lakh rupees, as it was the first of its kind. Subsequent orders could cost lesser though.