[offroad_maniac]

Originally Posted by Sankar

That hardtop looks very good! If made available here it would make a good solution for those who need a classy HT for their MM540/550. Any idea which company makes it?

As per the posts, its offered by Mahindra itself. Since there are no sliding windows, A/C must be offered as standard.

[GrayBerry]

That is a good looking hard top, the sun/moon roof is not practical in India,. would start leaking during rainy season.

[JeepMkd]

I can already see it in my driveway The black one that is.
I just don't want to part with my CJ4 :(

Two weeks ago I got in touch with the Mahindra dealer here, we have already met two years ago when my father and I were interested in the Pik-up. The dealer said that it should be here by the end of January, I wanted to tell this when I could get photos but I just couldn't hold myself I wasn't told the price however. It is Sunday, so I will phone again tomorrow probably.

If it is priced at 7700 Euros (which I doubt) is still 1000 Euros cheaper than the Lada Niva. Lada's are here common as Gypsys and M&M 550s in India so they are cheap and parts can be found everywhere. The Lada is inferior to the Thar, so if it is priced in the 7000-8000 Euros there will definetly be more THARs than Nivas in the years to come. Lada still uses 30-year old technology and hasn't improved much through the years.

God, I can't wait to see this thing myself.

[Sankar]

JeepMkd, so we'll count on you to give us an early road and off-road test of the Thar Guess you will have access to it much earlier than we folks do in Thar's motherland!

[headers]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Guess you will have access to it much earlier than we folks do in Thar's motherland!

Thats sad, ain't it. M&M want to explore exports first and then the local market.

The local market is very price sensitive and india sells VFM proposition.

All the best THAR and the team behind THAR

[offroad_maniac]

Originally Posted by JeepMkd

I can already see it in my driveway The black one that is.
If it is priced at 7700 Euros (which I doubt) is still 1000 Euros cheaper than the Lada Niva. Lada's are here common as Gypsys and M&M 550s in India so they are cheap and parts can be found everywhere. The Lada is inferior to the Thar, so if it is priced in the 7000-8000 Euros there will definetly be more THARs than Nivas in the years to come. Lada still uses 30-year old technology and hasn't improved much through the years.

God, I can't wait to see this thing myself.

Hi JeepMkd,

Please post your thoughts after visiting a Thar showroom. The price quoted was 7760 Euros for high end version (4 Seater) & base version (2 seater) will be 200 euros cheaper than that. Also there are some customizing option like colors & choice of bigger size alloys etc..

So all the best with booking of the Thar.

[4x4addict]

@headers:

As I mentioned in some other thread, many Foreign Auto brands are desperately trying to get a foot hold in the India market but many of our own companies are still suffering from the colonial days and best products are kept for the *white* masters. They some how feel that the Indian consumer is not ready for their best products.

[4x4addict]

If the Thar sells in enough numbers and there is no factory hard top or if Mahindra customization is too expensive, myself and Kurian from Road and Track maybe interested in offering a fiberglas top roughly along the lines of what has been done on my jeep.

For my jeep the windshield frame and B-Pillar was lowered but for the thar we will design one that can be bolted on to the existing vehicle as it is without any tinkering work. Final design will be done only after I can get my hands on the Thar. The idea is to make it a removable fiberglass top which has two sections. Since the cost of making the mould is high, we plan to proceed only if there is enough interest.

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

myself and Kurian from Road and Track maybe interested in offering a fiberglas top roughly along the lines of what has been done on my jeep. Nice spare bracket design and tail lamp guard.

4X4addict,
Definitely looks like a good fit and finish job, Well done.
Should I need one for the present 540/550 can it be available on order , if yes what would be the approximate cost?
Regards,

[4x4addict]

Hi Fazal:

We can discuss the hard top options in the hard top thread so we don't go OT in the Thar thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-te...roaders-3.html

[SamtheLeo]

@ 4x4addict : Yes certainly, given that M&M hardtop variant is too costly then base soft top variant, we would want to explore the possibility of having it fitted outside. It adds the advantage of having it as removable.

What is the kind of cost we are talking here?

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

@4x4 addict- neat job there, what is the material? is it FRP?

[headers]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

If the Thar sells in enough numbers and there is no factory hard top or if Mahindra customization is too expensive, myself and Kurian from Road and Track maybe interested in offering a fiberglas top roughly along the lines of what has been done on my jeep.

For my jeep the windshield frame and B-Pillar was lowered but for the thar we will design one that can be bolted on to the existing vehicle as it is without any tinkering work. Final design will be done only after I can get my hands on the Thar. The idea is to make it a removable fiberglass top which has two sections. Since the cost of making the mould is high, we plan to proceed only if there is enough interest.

Tini, reduce the glass area. This should reduce weight. Please take care of visbility too.

Cheers

[IronWolf]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

I too feel it will be atleast 7 Lakhs on the road. If they want to give something more affordable, just take the existing NCGS MM550 XDB and put in the CRDe engine.

Actually that would be more desirable for regular offroaders, esp with the solid axle vs IFS.

However for the majority of the buyers (read I_have_a_jeep_see_how_cool_I_am) it would be a let down as they cannot cruise at 120-140 in their peep.. sorry jeep.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

NOT is not yet confirmed! actually nothing is confirmed as of now, especially regarding the rear axle

From the conversations we were having with Behram and Spike looked like rear axle was under some serious debate. There is only 1 option for read axle for both 2WD and 4WD versions. They cannot have 2 separate axle options for the two variants.

Originally Posted by offroad_maniac

Here is how it looks. Pretty Decent.
It retails @
7700 EUR=11,32,437.6200 INR . What can we expect here in India???

(Source: Some Italian sites as found over google)




Notice the sunroof



From the back:

Bodyline is nothing but the good ol 540. So sad for those expecting to buy something which they saw at the Expos.

I like ! Simple and functional.

The Hard top looks like an excellent fit however it will not even be optional from MM.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by IronWolf

They cannot have 2 separate axle options for the two variants.

More the reason to make it a good one for the offroad purpose.

After lot of thinking i think ill give away this 'thar dream', move on to something else, which will suite better and be vfm for my use as a second special purpose vehicle

All the very best to M&M.