Mahindra XUV Aero Concept Previews India's First Crossover Coupe

SUVs with coupe looks have been around for quite some time. BMW first started the trend with the X6 that was launched in 2008 and several manufacturers followed it. Despite the early criticism received from the media, these Sports Activity Coupes became very popular.

Now Mahindra wants to be the first local automaker to launch such a car on the Indian market, which is expected to become the third largest in the world within ten years.

Mahindra recently bought the Famous Italian design company Pininfarina. However, this doesn't look like their work. The Aero has all the major design elements of the modern XUV model.

Like the old MINI Clubman and the Hyundai Veloster, it's got an asymmetrical design with a suicide-style rear door present only on the left side. That feature is unlikely to be kept for the production car, but the distinctive coupe-like roof is perfect, judging from the photos we received from Motor Beam.

The production car will have a tuned mHawk turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 210 bhp. The unit will also feature a more advanced cylinder head and Exhaust Gas Recirculation for better fuel consumption.

Mahindra company officials claim that the XUV Aero will be capable of doing 0 to 100 km/h in under 6 seconds. Frankly, that sounds like rubbish, since a 220 horsepower Golf GTI takes 6.5 seconds. Like Volkswagen, the Indian automaker will introduce four selectable driving modes.

The exterior of the XUV Aero features easy-to-read design cues. The trunk has curved glass and is flanked by LED lights. The interior looks far from production because of the digital dash and floating tablet. Embarrassingly, some of the things that look like screens are actually stickers.

Fortunately, the XUV Aero has two more years before it reaches production, which is plenty of time for Pininfarina to work out the kinks in the design.