Special edition Mahindra XUV500 may be launched this year

Mahindra might launch a special edition variant of its XUV500 this year. The special edition will most likely get the cosmetic treatment to form the fifth variant in the line-up after the W4, W6, W8 and W8-AWD. An all-new XUV500 is expected by 2015 and this variant will begiven the task of keeping the SUV ‘fresh’ till then.

The variant will only be a ‘special edition’ and not a facelift, so not much is expected to change, design-wise. The car will adopt a cherry-red theme for both the interiors and exteriors. A red livery will envelop the body from the front to the rear with the alloys also being highlighted in red to make it stand out in the crowd. Inside, the dashboard and seats will also carry forward the theme of the existing interiors.

Since being launched in September 2011, besides the addition of the W4 variant (which was launched in November 2013), the XUV500 hasn’t had any facelifts.The car is selling quite well and Mahindra seems to want to take the ‘why fix it, when it ain’t broken’ approach, by not bothering with any changes to the design of its flagship since its launch. All variants of the XUV500 are powered by an upgraded 2.2-litre mHawk engine found in the Xylo and the Scorpio. The engine churns out 140bhp and 330Nm of torque and is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The all-wheel-drive option is available only in the W8 variant.

Source : IAB