Camouflaged Mahindra XUV500 spotted on test

A camouflaged model of the XUV500 has been spotted testing in India. Codenamed W216, it is expected to be either the AT version which was announced earlier this year. The test mule also has the words ‘MD003-AW Japan’ of which the letters AW is most likely to be the short form for AISW AW, a Japanese transmission manufacturer and developer. 

The AT box in question is expected to be a six-speed unit from the Japanese manufacturer and was announced by Mahindra in February. The same unit is expected to go into a new range of crossovers that are jointly being developed by Ssangyong and Mahindra. 

The XUV500 AT is expected to be powered by the same 2.2-litre mHAWK diesel engine that produces 140bhp and 320Nm of torque.  For non-diesel markets we expect that this car will make use of a ‘in-development’ 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol which produces the same output as the diesel unit but with slightly lesser torque.

AT- powered cars are expected to gain more prominence in the future and it looks Mahindra wants to leave no stone unturned when the moment arrives. It must be noted that Mahindra currently does not sell automatics but has a Quanto AT in the pipeline. 

Source:Motorbeam