Force Motors new SUV unveiled; to be called Force One

Force Motors Limited unveiled its new brand identity in Mumbai, for its passenger vehicle division and the name of their much anticipated SUV. The upcoming SUV will be called the Force One.

“The new logo represents a movement independent of any inertia, a movement that is natural and represents both growth and change,” said, Prasan Firodia, managing director, Force Motors.

Force Motors is venturing into hitherto uncharted territory with its new SUV, which it wants to position between the Mahindra Scorpio and the Ford Endeavour, at a price point of between Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 12 lakhs. The launch of Force One will likely happen in July 2011.

As speculated, Force One will initially be launched as a 4×2 version and the 4×4 version could be launched a year later. The high-end version of the upcoming SUV is expected to come with airbags and ABS.

Force One will have body shell based on the Foday Explorer that is currently sold in China. Hence, expect the exterior looks of the Force One to be dated when compared to its rivals such as the Mahindra Scorpio and even the Tata Safari.

The interiors of the Force One are expected to have better or at least quality at par with what the competition offers in their SUVs. The seating arrangement will likely be two at the front, three in the middle and two in the third row.

Cargo space should be more than average when compared with other SUVs in the segment. According to Force Motors, the SUV will have a driver information system, cruise control, audio controls mounted on steering, dual AC vents for each row. The SUV will also have indicators on the outside mirrors and plush leather seats, as well as 16 inch alloy wheels.

The Force One will be powered by a Mercedes-Benz (Daimler) OM 611, 2,146 cc (2.2 litre) common-rail turbo-diesel engine that makes 140 bhp of max power and 345 Nm of max torque. It has to be noted that this engine powered the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W210) when it was launched in 2000. The power train is made under license from Daimler.

Being a German engine, one can expect this motor to be quite refined and deliver good performance. The transmission too has been sourced from Mercedes. Many of Force Motors products are based on old Mercedes designs, such as the Gurkha, the Tempo Trax and the Tempo Traveller.

Force One has got its suspension setup tuned by Lotus Engineering, a third party engineering consulting company which has worked on many cars like the Aston Martin DB9, Nissan GT-R and even the Mahindra Scorpio.

To take care of sales and distribution, Force Motors is setting up a 50-strong dealership network to sell the upcoming SUV. These dealerships will sell only passenger vehicles (starting from Force One) of the company. Force Motors plans to sell 4,000 units of Force One during the first year of launch.