Mahindra was one of the worst hit manufacturers when the ban on the sale of diesel cars over 2000cc was put in place in New Delhi. While manufacturers like Toyota and Mercedes took the petition route, Mahindra went ahead and tweaked the 2.2-litre mHawk engine to a cubic capacity below 2000cc. The new engine will be available for the XUV500 and Scorpio in the NCR for now.
Mahindra had developed the new 2179cc mHawk engine in collaboration with AVL. The new sub-2-litre engine is mostly a sleeved version of the 2.2-litre mHawk. Easier said than done, a sleeved engine is the one where the cylinder bore is reduced to lower the displacement while keeping the stroke same. This helps in retaining the overall engine architecture and reducing the huge development costs associated with engine development.
The new engine has been made available with both the new Scorpio and the new XUV500. In the Scorpio, the 1.99-litre mHawk develops 120bhp, same as the 2.2-litre engine. The mHawk produces an identical 140bhp for the XUV500 too. In the absence of torque figures, the 1.99-litre mHawk seems to be have tuned for more power as compared to the 2.2-litre version.
The Scorpio and the XUV500 is being offered in the NCR region for now and may also be made available to prospective buyers in the country over a period of time. No changes in the price of the two cars have been announced as of now but the 2.0-litre mHawk should be available at more or less the same price as the 2.2-litre cars.
