Mahindra Marazzo platform to spawn compact & full-sized SUVs

Indian automotive giant Mahindra launched the Marazzo in India earlier this week. The Marazzo is based on the all-new U321 platform which is a ladder frame and monocoque hybrid chassis. Speaking to Autocar Professional, Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, revealed that the Marazzo’s platform can support a full range of body styles and is highly modular.

When asked in the interview by Autocar Professional about what all vehicles could be based on the Marazzo’s patented platform, Wadhera said, “It can take a seven-to-eight-seater product, be it a crossover or a typical blue-blooded SUV. The lines between a car, hatchback, SUV or MPV are very blurred these days and not as deep as they used to be. Customers are now willing to change over which is why you see a lot of them moving from hatchbacks to SUVs. It’s a platform of a C-sized segment, typically seven- to eight-seater, which can be scaled up or down to even a compact segment car.”

When Mahindra uses the scalable platform for more vehicles, the new SUVs and compact cars made using the architecture are expected to make use of Mahindra’s all-new 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel, which is mounted transversely onto the platform. The Marazzo’s new 1.5-litre engine makes 121 Bhp and 300 Nm of torque, which is sent to the front wheels via a 6-speed gearbox.

The new 1.5-litre engine will be next seen in Mahindra’s S201 compact SUV that will rival the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon and Ford EcoSport when it arrives during the festive period this year. The 7-seater version the S201 (S202) is expected to rival the Hyundai Creta when it arrives next year. However, both the 5 and 7-seater versions of Mahindra’s upcoming compact SUV are not based on the new Marazzo’s platform but are instead reworked versions of the Ssangyong (a subsidiary of Mahindra based out of South Korea) Tivoli’s platform.

The Mahindra Marazzo, which takes its name from the Basque word for ‘shark’ was jointly developed by Mahindra Research Valley and the carmaker’s North American arm, Mahindra North American Technical Centre (MNATC) and has been built for the global market. The MPV which can be configured as either a 7 or an 8-seater has the largest footprint of any Mahindra vehicle till date and sits between the Maruti Ertiga and the Toyota Innova in terms of pricing. The Marazzo will be the third vehicle in Mahindra’s current line-up after the Scorpio and the XUV500 to be exported to international markets and is expected to go on sale in South American markets and South Africa soon.