A teaser on August 05 had begun a hype train and it was well worth the wait, as Mahindra’s next big reveal at its Futurescape event in Cape Town, South Africa is the Thar.e concept. Basically, it is the all-electric version of the Thar, and it has been unveiled in a five-door format, a first for the nameplate. What’s more, there’s plenty of changes that have been done to differentiate it from its ICE counterpart.
The big change starts in the design as there is a completely revamped face with a new panel replacing the front grille. This is complemented by squared LED headlamps as well as a rugged front bumper. Move towards the sides and aside from the clearly longer shape due to the five-door layout, there are more pronounced wheel arches with cube-style wheels strapped with off-road tyres to add to the rugged theme. At the rear, there are chunky rear bumpers and squared LED tail lamps.
Inside, it is an all-new cabin with a minimalistic theme that features a large touchscreen infotainment system, and digital driver’s display. There’s also a three-spoke steering wheel and what looks like touch-sensitive controls. While we don’t expect all of it to show up on the production-spec model, plenty of elements from the concept could be used.
The main difference between the ICE Thar and the Thar.e is under the hood. Based on the INGLO platform, it will be powered by a dual-motor 4WD electric powertrain. The wheelbase ranges from 2,775mm and 2,975mm to accommodate the battery pack and the five-door layout and the overhangs have been shortened and ground clearance increased, which should help improve approach and departure angles.
While we are yet to get a timeline for when the production-spec Mahindra Thar.e will surface, we expect it to happen by 2024. As far as prices go, it should retain at a premium over its ICE counterpart that retails from Rs 10.54 lakh to Rs 16.77 lakh, ex-showroom.
