Lets face it. The Mahindra Thar is an antiquated machine fit only for the alpha male, or the discerning off-road enthusiast. While members of the former breed garland their favourite Mahindra with fake snorkels, bar lights and meatier tires to merely increase its street cred, the latter breed is always trying to better its off-road performance with suspension, engine or differential upgrades. Here’s one such heavily modified Mahindra Thar that is built to be the most hardcore of its kind, strictly functionally speaking. But in the process, it ends up looking more mighty than all the visually buffed up Thars combined.
Also read – Render: Next-generation Mahindra Thar keeps old school charm
This beastly Thar has its original heart ripped out, which has been replaced by a 5.3-litre V8 engine from a Chevrolet Tahoe, rated at 330 bhp and over 340 Nm of torque. The wheel arches have been sawed out to accommodate those humongous off-road tires, each weighing more than 80 kg. There’s a thoroughly revised suspension set-up, a new automatic transmission, while pretty much everything except for the body, has been traded in with imported parts and even some local components taken from a truck.
Also read – This modified Mahindra Thar pokes you right in the eye
This mud-plugging, rock crawling beast weighs in at a monstrous 3.3 tons, and made its appearance at the 2016 Rain Forest Challenge in Goa. Other technical details are scarce, but one can spot an external roll-cage, off-road specific bumpers with tow hooks, bar lights, new ORVMs, a winch, and a functional snorkel. Work on this particular Thar started in 2012, and the owner reckons its still “fragile”, as a few other modifications still need to go into place.
Images: vpande53, Anand Kapadia, Team-BHP and Joy Putturaan
