Petrol-powered Mahindra XUV500 snapped testing - Spied

23/07/2015 - 12:06 | Mahindra XUV500, Mahindra, Spy pictures | Aravind Jayachandran

Likely for export markets.

Spyshots of a petrol-powered Mahindra XUV500 have surfaced online, courtesy of Team-BHP fan Muthukumaran.G.

Mahindra XUV500 petrol fuel lid snapped in Chennai — The Mahindra XUV500 petrol is likely to be exclusive to global export markets.

While a petrol-powered Mahindra XUV500 may not attract much of the Indian crowd looking to spend over INR 10 Lakhs on a vehicle, such a model will help the company establish itself in global export markets like the Middle East, Australia, Americas and Russia.

However, the domestic market has not been ruled out completely, as Dr. Pawan Goenka, President of Mahindra’s automotive sector, had once said that if there was a condition in the future where the diesel SUV became unaffordable, they could introduce the petrol version.

Mahindra XUV500 petrol rear end snapped in Chennai — The engine powering the Mahindra XUV500 petrol could be a modified version of the 2.2-liter mHawk diesel or a Ssangyong-co-developed engine.

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It's unclear as to which petrol engine will be powering the new XUV500 variant. It could either be the block of the 2.2-liter mHawk diesel engine modified heavily to run on petrol, or an all-new engine developed along with Ssangyong. Transmission options will include a manual gearbox and a perhaps a 6-speed automatic transmission. An AWD system could also be available in higher trims, as in the diesel.