Exclusive Mahindra Marksman Armoured Vehicle

Faisal Khan

15 years ago

The Mahindra Marksman Armoured Vehicle is Mahindra’s attempt at making India’s first armoured capsule based light bullet proof vehicle. We got a chance to see the Marksman in person and we must admit, Mahindra has done a fantastic job. The Marksman is developed by Mahindra Defense Systems and will be launched soon (not for purchase by civilians yet, though there might be a civil version later on). The Marksman very much resembles German bullet proof vehicles from 1940s which we get to see in the latest World War 2 games.

The body of the car is very tough, you can feel its bullet proof. Everything from the exterior to the interior has been designed with utmost detail. There is even a fire extinguisher, just in case. The pilot of the vehicle can make announcements via the speaker on the front bumper. The Marksman uses a 2.5L CRDE engine which is BS3 compliant. With 105bhp of power on tap at 3800rpm and 228Nm of torque between 1800-2200rpm the engine is good enough to haul the 3200kg (2600kgs unladen + 600kgs of payload) vehicle. The car can seat 6 [2 (driver, co–driver) + 4 (rear)]. The car has a 5 speed manual gearbox and 4 wheel drive along with power steering. Air conditioning is available as an option.

The front use discs & calliper whereas the rear uses drum brakes. The independent suspension (front) and rigid leaf spring along with shock absorber (rear) ensure this heavy vehicle will stay put on the road on any conditions. Though tires are not tubeless, Mahindra offer run flat system as an optional. Tire size is a good 245/75/16 of triangle make. The alloys seem to have been lifted straight from the Scorpio. Turning radius is a decent 5.8m for a vehicle of this size. The Marksman will hit a top speed of 100kmph, if need be.

The Mahindra Marksman provides a host of safety features and protection : –

Ballistic Protection

Sides – Can withstand three direct hits of 7.62 X 51mm NATO Ball M80, 7.62 X 39mm Ball PS and 5.56 X 45mm Ball M 193 at a distance of 10m at 90º angle attack.
Top – Can withstand three direct hits of above ammunition at a distance of 10m at 45º angle attack.
Floor – Protection against two DM 51(German norm) hand grenades detonated under the vehicle simultaneously.
Additional protection – All joints and welding have overlap. The rear stowage boxes provide protection to crew when using the rear door.
Cuppola has an machine gun mount with 270º traverse and protection.
Seven crew firing ports.
Outward facing configured rear seat and wide bulletproof windows allows total operational orientation of the crew sitting at the rear.
Search light mounted on top of the vehicle controlled from inside the vehicle by the driver/co driver.
Rear view camera and a TV screen for the driver and co driver to see the dead zone behind the vehicle.
Military/user specified stowage and fittings can be catered for.