Team-BHP - Mahindra working on new SUV

MOD EDIT : Check out the exclusive spy-pics of the SUV here : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...cs-pg-7-a.html

No its not the new scorpio we are talking about,its a whole new platform and this SUV would most probably placed higher than the Scorpio[from what I have heard from a few sources] though as this link says it still would be built to a price,and who's behind the design of the new suv Peter Stevens, the designer of the $1,000,000 McLaren F1 (and the Lotus Elan M100 and the Jaguar XJR-15).

This suv may the one getting the more powerful engine,while the present scorpio continues with about the same power.

Quote:

Would it be a similar type of S.U.V., an inexpensive S.U.V.?
Yes. The way they see it, the way that Anand Mahindra, who’s the chief executive of the company, described it is — he sees it as a democratic opportunity for poorer people to buy a 4×4 or an S.U.V. He doesn’t have any kind of illusions that it’s going to be a top-of-the-range market thing at all — because if you look at the prices of their vehicles in India, typically their Scorpio sells for about a quarter of what the equivalent Toyota would sell for. So they have some advantage in price.

Is the quality there? Is the engineering at the level that it needs to be to sell to America?
The engineering is fine. The thing is properly rugged. That aspect is very good. What they want me to do is show them the process whereby quality becomes part of the design, rather than something you struggle with after you’ve made it.

Please read the link for more info:
Indias ,500 Car - Wheels - Autos - New York Times Blog

Quote:

Originally Posted by v1p3r (Post 477301)

Well they hired Lotus and Lotus came up with their worst suspension setup ever, so I dunno if a supercar designer will really be able to design a budget SUV for an emerging market.

I very much agree with that. Lotus were never known for work on SUVs and I feel this is a similar move.

Maybe they should have approached someone like Gerry McGovern or Geoff Upex. They have SUV experience/track records.

Peter Stevens to my knowledge has never worked on a SUV. He has an impressive portfolio which can be viewed at : Peter Stevens Design - Automotive Excellence

I agree with bigman about a new Mahindra SUV. Last weekend on my way to Nashik I saw atleast a dozen of them pass me by from the opposite direction. They were heavily camouflaged. All I could tell was it had a familiar 'Scorpio-ish' grill hence the 'guess' its a Mahindra vehicle. The headlamps and taillamp clusters were not in, only 'placeholder' plain-vanilla light fitting were being used.

Since I was at the wheel of my car, couldn't take any scoop pics :(

Peter Stevens last design was the MG SV which in my opinion was terribly overdone & hardly anything to look at. So just because he's involved don't bet on it being a good design.

A few notable excerpts from the article though:

Quote:

Really?? The Innova with better space, handling, NVH etc. costs 3 times more for similar equipment levels :Shockked: Dang when did that happen & how did I miss it! Who here's bought a new Scorpio for 2.5 Lakhs? Anyone?

Quote:

Is the quality there? Is the engineering at the level that it needs to be to sell to America?

The engineering is fine. The thing is properly rugged. That aspect is very good. What they want me to do is show them the process whereby quality becomes part of the design, rather than something you struggle with after you’ve made it.

Thank God they realised that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iraghava (Post 477552)

since when is the innova an SUV ? i think you missed the point here...maybe scorpio and safari are not full-blooded SUVs, but they certainly live up to the tag. what the article here is referring to is probably the toyota fortuner or the mitsu montero. then we have the indian SUVs at 1/3 the price. the innova is a huge van or a mini bus...either way, not an SUV. i've used both the scoprio and safari off-road extensively, and innova is nowhere in the same league. its 'luxury transport' - period. the new tata winger or tavera is competition to the innova here, winger being 1/2 the price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by v1p3r (Post 477556)

Well, a good friend and me saw a heavily disguised vehicle on MG Rd, which could only be a Mahindra. It had the Scorpio taillamps, and full body covering. Either the Ingenio or this thing.

Saw a post on Mahindra Axe. I am wildly guessing here, could it be that the civilian version of Axe be the new SUV which Mahindra Management has been talking about few months back;).

Quote:

Originally Posted by iraghava (Post 477552)

Errr Ishan, its not the Innova being mentioned here methinks - more like the evasive Fortuner or the Prado?

I wouldn't call the Innova a SUV by any stretch of my imagination:p

Quote:

Typically, that’s where people who are inexperienced in designing for quality come unstuck. Each person does his own little bit, and because things come out slightly different when they’re manufactured (from what you drew originally), you have to make allowances for that. And that’s in the design stage, and that’s one of the things that they want my experience to help them with.

Guys he is not designing the SUV but as he says he is showing M&M how to improve quality right from the design stage. Products like the side plastic fender which seems to have such low quality need to be improved and thats where this guy comes in.

If you read the article carefully, it becomes clear that Peter Stevens' role in the M&M SUV project is more of a design consultant than 'car designer' per se. Take this for example and I quote from the article:

Q. Is the quality there (in India)? Is the engineering at the level that it needs to be to sell to America?

A. The engineering is fine. The thing is properly rugged. That aspect is very good. What they want me to do is show them the process whereby quality becomes part of the design, rather than something you struggle with after you’ve made it.

Q. Can you elaborate on that?

A. One of the most complicated corners of the car is when you try and join the headlight to the hood top to front fender to the bumper. You’ve got four different panels, probably made of four different materials. And they all have to come together and not look as if there are great gaps and mismatches and it’s different from one side to another and all that kind of thing. Typically, that’s where people who are inexperienced in designing for quality come unstuck. Each person does his own little bit, and because things come out slightly different when they’re manufactured (from what you drew originally), And that’s in the design stage, and that’s one of the things that they want my experience to help them with.

Source: The New York Times.
Indias ,500 Car - Wheels - Autos - New York Times Blog

For those of you who havent read the article, the above is a snippet from an interview that appeared in The New York Times. Peter Stevens is the man in the hot seat.

M&M have a competent design team. From what little I can understand, Stevens might be given a specific job of inculcating 'quality' into the design and manufacturing process. Which is one area that Indian car manufacturers still fall short.

Besides, it takes more than 1 man to visualise, sketch, conceptualise and finalise how the SUV should/would look like.