Mahindra launched its flagship SUV XUV500 in 2011 and the vehicle received an amazing response. During its initial sales period, the SUV commanded long waiting periods. Buyers loved the overall styling and feature-loaded nature of the vehicle which made it feel very different when compared to other SUVs and MUVs from the Mahindra stable. The Indian automaker recently launched the W4 variant of the XUV500 which competes with the Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster and Nissan Terrano. Now, Mahindra is planning to launch a special edition of this SUV and some spy pictures have emerged so let’s investigate what is so special about this special edition.
The Mahindra XUV500 special edition is really loaded and is called Sportz. Now by saying ‘really loaded’ we don’t mean loaded by features and gizmos. What we mean to say is that this edition is loaded with a whole bunch of hideous stickers and red accents which make the aggressive-looking SUV quite cheesy. The side profile gets huge ‘Sportz’ stickers in a combination of red, grey and black. The ‘sporty’ theme is carried over to the bonnet, ORVMs and roof also. The door handles get red accents now and the boot opening handle hasn’t been spared either. The roof rails are also finished in a shade of red while the silver alloys are adorned with a small red bit, which is surrounded by chrome to make matters worse, on each spoke.
It is also speculated that the Mahindra XUV500 special edition will come with a redesigned arm-rest and integrated reverse camera. Mahindra will not incorporate any mechanical changes in this edition. There seems to be a special edition badge on the C-pillar and at the rear, beneath the XUV500 badge. Powering the XUV500 is a 2.2-litre mHawk turbo diesel engine that produces 140 BHP of maximum power at 3750 RPM with a peak torque of 330 Nm at 1600-2800 RPM, mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.
The Mahindra XUV500 is priced between Rs. 10.71 – 14.50 lakhs (ex-showroom, Mumbai). We don’t think there will be any price hike for the special edition, however we do think that Mahindra might have to tank the prices significantly if they want anyone to consider this special edition.
Pictures Source – Team-BHP
