Mahindra Thar ROXX’s Body-In-White (BIW) Spotted At Scrapyard [Video]

We’re just about 10 days away from the launch of the all-new 5 door Mahindra Thar ROXX, and a new video has surfaced, showing the 4X4 SUV’s bodyshell. The video is said to be from a scrapyard at Mayapuri, Delhi.

As you can see in the video, there’s a bodyshell of the Mahindra Thar ROXX placed on a raised platform, and probably on its way to being completely dismantled as scrap. This bodyshell is called the Body-In-White in automotive engineering parlance, and is essentially the unpainted shell of the vehicle. The Thar ROXX will be launched in India on the 15th of August, as Mahindra’s big Independence Day launch.

From the short video of the Thar ROXX’s bodyshell, it seems like the vehicle would feature a metal hardtop. There’s a cut out for the sunroof while the rear-door shows vertically placed door handles. There’s a kink on the D-Pillar, and this gives the 5-door Thar ROXX a distinctive profile, differentiating it from the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

Notably, Mahindra plans to export the Thar ROXX to many developed markets around the world including Australia and Europe, and many design elements on the 4X4 SUV are quite distinct. This is intentional as Mahindra is steering clear of any potential lawsuits that Stellantis (owner of the Jeep brand) may slap on it.

In the past, Mahindra has faced multiple lawsuits from Jeep when it tried to sell a bare-bones version of the first generation Thar in the US market as an off road farm vehicle called the Roxor. Eventually, Mahindra had to heavily redesign the Roxor’s front end to be able to sell the off-road farm vehicle in the United States. Clearly, this is a direction that the Indian SUV giant doesn’t want to take with the Thar ROXX, and this explains the SUV’s design.

Talking of the Thar ROXX’s engines and gearboxes, much of them are expected to be shared with the 3-door Thar. However, the engines on the Thar ROXX could get a bump up in power and torque figures to deal with the additional weight that a larger body and a five door layout brings to the equation.

Notably, Mahindra already offers the 2 liter turbo petrol and 2.2 liter turbo diesel engines in higher states of tune in the likes of the Scorpio-N and XUV700. A similar state of tune (197 Bhp-380 Nm for the petrol) and (175 Bhp-400 Nm for the diesel) is expected on the Thar Roxx. There’s also talk about a rear wheel drive-only trim, which could use the 1.5 diesel motor (115 Bhp-300 Nm).

6 speed manual and torque converter gearboxes are expected on the bigger turbo petrol and turbo diesel engines. A four wheel drive system will be standard on higher trims. As for creature comforts and safety features, leather seats, an infotainment unit borrowed from the XUV 3XO, Level 2 ADAS again borrowed from the XUV 3XO, a panoramic sunroof, ABS, airbags, ESP and traction control are likely to be offered.

The Thar ROXX is likely to be about Rs. 2 lakh pricier than the 3 door model. We expect the base trim of the Thar ROXX to be priced well below Rs. 13 lakh, ex-showroom.