Mahindra has unveiled their latest concept called Komodo 4×4. It is a handiwork of IED Torino graduate and Indian designer Makrand Patil. He has designed this rugged sports utility vehicle taking into perspective the demands from shoppers in India and Indian road situations. He has come with this gigantic off-roader, which is designed for staid family guy, sports enthusiast and young adventurer. Indian automotive market is one of the rapidly growing markets in the world. It might not be riddled with large sports utility vehicles and sporty coupe; however affordable 4x4s and small city vehicles is the country’s specialty. Mahindra & Mahindra, a multinational Indian automaker has been a staple in the automotive market for long lasting and durable off-roaders.
But how would Mahindra translate in today’s market? Mr. Patil thinks that the automaker needs to evolve into worldly competitor with his design for the new sports utility vehicle. Patil said we were a team of two. Valery Dimov, my friend and Makrand Patil, myself. The vehicles of Mahindra have always proved positive for Indian terrain and so our inspiration was authentic Mahindra DNA. Earlier, the company designed their cars under famous Willys production line. The main idea was to keep legacy alive. Inheriting the true off-road abilities with comfortable and roomy interior, the Mahindra Komodo 4×4 is meant for wild just like Komodo dragon.
Patil stated it took around 4 months to complete the project. Starting from understanding the market and brand values to final industrial clay model. The most challenging part was to get right combination of design between off-road vehicle and luxury sports utility vehicle. The project was designed keeping in mind the vehicle will be for near future, around 2-3 years from now and would be diesel hybrid. As this being their thesis project in IED Torino, they had officials from M&M and Chris Bangle, Ex Chief of Design, BMW Group. The whole idea behind the name came during brand research. All vehicles of Mahindra end with a 0 or O (for example XUV 500, Bolero, Scorpio etc.). In Italian, Comodo with C means comfort and therefore it gets the name Komodo.
On the contrary, the Mahindra Komodo 4×4 has been designed and developed keeping in mind the company’s motto. The Indian automaker has been a benchmark for reliability and durability. Uncompromising and bold, challenging the limits of nature and not giving up.
