We recently
wrote about GM's
small Brazilian pickup that you can't buy stateside,
but If you've ever wondered what an Indian-built diesel pickup would
look like on American highways, here's the answer to that (oil)-burning
question.
You
wouldn't be the only one wondering either. At least one domestic manufacturer
wants to know how it drives too, so they bought this overseas version
of Mahindra's
upcoming U.S. pickup to try out in Michigan.
Originally
expected to be called the
Appalachian, Mahindra's once-again-yet-to-be-named
pickup is expected to go on sale in the U.S. next summer. A source at
the company says they want to put the focus back on the Mahindra brand
rather than a specific model. The final identifier should be selected
by the end of summer. We expect it will have changed to an alphanumeric
name.
Mahindra's
truck will be powered by the company's new mHawk 2.2-liter inline-four-cylinder
diesel engine. The mHawk was designed in cooperation with diesel engineering
firms Bosch and AVL with the American pickup market in mind. Power
ratings are expected to be in the range of 145-150 horsepower and approximately
300 pounds-feet of torque. The engine will be paired with a standard
six-speed automatic transmission, a floor-mounted console shifter and
steering-wheel-mounted paddles to manually shift the gearbox.
Mahindra
promises the truck will be able to carry a sizeable 1.3-ton (2,600-pound)
payload in its 7.5-foot cargo box. It will come with a 60,000-mile,
four-year bumper-to-bumper warranty.
The tall roll bar in back of the truck is for testing only.
