[fundagenie]

Owning a XUV for the last 2 years was always a pleasure. Something beyond words. Something lot of people have written out intensively with intricate details. So I am not going there in this thread. Yet through this post I will be forced to express my feelings for the XUV5OO vehicle as such especially after driving it on a race track. And this is my first extensive writeup after my school days composition. So pls excuse any shortcomings.

So how did it start. Almost a month back, I get a mail from the Mahindra Purple club informing about an opportunity to drive in Madras Motor Race track in Chennai as part of Torque day event on Aug 10th, 2014, Sunday. And the moment I saw it, registered for it in no time as they had mentioned a limit of only 150 participants. Till date I have only seen race tracks in TV and hence just dint want to lose this wonderful opportunity to drive in a race track. Registration for 2 participants was just 1000 bucks, including lunch and snacks. So that was fine. However, there was a catch. The mailer clearly mentioned that kids were not allowed on the track. I had a 4yr old kid. And as I was based out in Bangalore, going with family would mean leaving them back in the hotel. Hence decided to ask some friend to accompany instead of wife. However, on reaching the venue, I could see a good number of kids running all around. Could have taken family along. Surely next time.

Coming back to the event. With family ruled out got hold of one of my friend cum colleague Mr. Amit to join me. And started the weeks long wait for the day. Several personal matters started popping up on days ahead of the event - surprise guests, wife getting an interview call on the day before the event and so forth. Felt I might have to give it a miss as we had to travel to Chennai at least by Saturday evening and I was still not free till 4pm on the day. We wanted to be in Chennai on saturday itself so that we could have a good nights sleep before hitting the track the next morning. And finally by 5pm the dark clouds parted and we managed to start in an hours time, phew. Right after exiting karnataka, I handed over the reigns of my purple cheetah to Amit as he had to get accustomed to the car before the event. Something which I rarely do unless I have total trust in the driving maturity of the person. And which I had in Amit. So of we go.

Reached Chennai by around 10.30pm and stayed at a friends place for the night. Chennai weather was pretty good as it had rained the last few days. Which did put a doubt in my head about rains the next day. Woke up early and both of us were ready by 8.30am. The weather looked great and we were all fired up. The event was scheduled to start at 9.30am and we were staying at a distance of around 20-30 kms from the track, which meant ample time to reach on time. But then there came an unexpected glitch on the way. Traffic jams on the last stretch of the road heading out of Chennai city and meeting the highway. Wasn't expecting such a jam on early Sunday morning. Anyways we managed to reach by 9.40am.

As we neared the place where the track was meant to be (as per GPS) saw a couple of other XUV's coming from both directions of the highway and confused like us on where the track actually was. But then we noticed the purple club volunteers standing on the main road with outstretched arms guiding us to the venue. That was cool. Hats off to those guys standing in the hot Chennai sun and all the dust to help us out . So started our half a day of adrenaline rush and believe the photos would be able to tell the rest of the story and do justice to the entire event.


FundaG

[fundagenie]

The beasts role down from the parking lot to the pitstop and to the tracks. THe pitstop contained stable like partitions for each vehicle. While waiting the excitement kept growing and all those race movies I had watched started flashing through my mind.

[fundagenie]

SO track day begins. Woohoo. THe super XUV's used for rally were also there. Apart from the Rextons that were the official lead cars, dint see any RExton owners participating in the race.

[fundagenie]

We got ready for the race wearing helmets for safety reasons. The race was in batches of 10-12 cars. There were Rextons at front and back driven by rally drivers. So we were flagged off with aplomb and off we went. Our excitement got us the opportunity to drive twice. I was behind the wheels the first time and Amit in the 2nd round.

The track was more curvy than straight. Hence more than speeding the thrill was throwing the cars around the corners. For the first time in my 2 years of ownership I noticed the ESP indicators switching ON each time I hit the curves. And boy it was surely an adrenaline rush. Every time I skidded into the corners my heart was in my mouth. The tyres were squealing like hell and we could smell burnt rubber. In the 6 laps we did in the 2 rounds I think my tyres would have lost some good years of tyre life. But then the feeling after the drive was priceless. My trust on XUV just skyrocketed. With each passing lap, I started pushing the car more and yet the beast just took it in its stride. Did what it was meant to do in the claimed manner with all perfection. Hats off to Mahindra for building a car like XUV5OO.

The super XUV's also did some laps and it was a treat both for the eyes as well as ears. Really wanted to get a ride in it. But only some lucky draw winners got this opportunity. But then those beasts were ruling the tracks like anything.

[fundagenie]

Now that the racing was done we decided to take some snaps with the beauties and beasts

Though I couldn't manage a ride in the super XUV, got to ride in one of the lead Rextons which were also driven by the rally drivers. And man it was a damn good experience. All in all we had a blast at the Torque day and couldnt get enough of it. We were sort of the last people to leave the track as we hung around to see if we could drive once again or get a ride in the super XUV. But alas all good things had to come to an end and we were finally forced to leave. However, overall it was be an unforgettable experience and something which I will treasure for a long time. XUV rocks big time.

[giri1.8]

I was planning to attend this event with my friend, but had some important commitments at the last minute, so had to give it a miss

[Sree_hari82]

I was also planning to attend this event but had to give it a miss due to personal work at Bangalore. Very sad for not being part of such a wonderful event.

[GTO]

You got to hand it to Mahindra for these 'owner engagement' activities. Whether it's the Great Escapes or events like this one, they always manage to get a healthy level of participation. Job well done.

The terms 'SUV' and 'race track' somehow don't fit in together. Yet, from all the Indian SUVs, the XUV500 is the only one I'd drive on a track. It's got good dynamics (for an SUV) and can take fast corners that would leave a Scorpio & Safari toppled.

Sweet report, thanks for sharing. Here's a link to N_Aditya's drive @ Buddh.

[undead]

Wish I could have participated in that event. I didnt receive any email about this event . I am registered in Purple club too. :(

[benbsb29]

Memories you would surely cherish. Your excitement clearly shows in the pics!
So, did you check the state of the tyres following the event?

[getsurya]

You got to hand it to Mahindra for these 'owner engagement' activities. Whether it's the Great Escapes or events like this one, they always manage to get a healthy level of participation. Job well done.

Good report and pictures, thanks for sharing!

Absolutely, GTO! I miss the M&M family events(so does my family- My son even asked me as to why Toyota does not hold any of such nice events for the owners & the families like the M&M did) with the Toyota. M&M, sure knows to keep their customers engaged and connected well. There are days where I still feel sad for letting my Black Scorpio go!

[joeblack]

we aren't we getting such invitations here in pune? its so nice to be part of such events.

[vittal]

Wonderful snaps of the day.

I wish to participate in such an event... may be someday when I get an opportunity..

Thanks for sharing the snaps & the about the event.

[StepUP!]

Originally Posted by fundagenie

Now that the racing was done we decided to take some snaps with the beauties and beasts

Though I couldn't manage a ride in the super XUV, got to ride in one of the lead Rextons which were also driven by the rally drivers. And man it was a damn good experience. All in all we had a blast at the Torque day and couldnt get enough of it. We were sort of the last people to leave the track as we hung around to see if we could drive once again or get a ride in the super XUV. But alas all good things had to come to an end and we were finally forced to leave. However, overall it was be an unforgettable experience and something which I will treasure for a long time. XUV rocks big time.

Pardon my knowledge here but what exactly made these XUVs super XUV? Was it extra BHPs and toque or was it something else?

[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by StepUP!

Pardon my knowledge here but what exactly made these XUVs super XUV? Was it extra BHPs and toque or was it something else?

AS far as I know it is everything.. more power, torque, imported red rooster suspensions, performance exhausts, specially made tyres from MRF, stripped down interiors with just 2 seats etc etc etc.

FundaG