The Mahindra XUV 500 is a brilliant car and does everything it is told to, without twitching. The XUV with its Monocoque chassis is one of the best Handling Indian SUV’s and has a very nice ride feel and even that 140 BHP Mhawk is a gem of an engine, but some people just want more from their cars and the owner of this XUV has taken that want to another level altogether.
Going by a decal at the front, it seems the owner calls it as INtrepid!
Customizing has always been within the soul of a petrolhead and modifying a car means a lot to a petrolhead as, it is taking a stock car which was built to suit the tastes of every single prospective customer out there and then customizing it and changing it to suit the needs and desires of the owner. As they say, ‘there is no limits to modifying a car’ and the owner of this XUV has taken it to yet another level altogether.
This XUV 500 has taken modifications to an extreme level. Some of the modifications on it are, a full-body matte black vinyl wrap, a unique front grille, huge non-functional Air-scoops on the hood and a huge roof scoop too. It also has an off-road style roll cage/body protection bars and also a snorkel air-intake system which makes this SUV look like an off road ready beast.
The XUV has also been equipped with an electric winch on the front end, exposed recovery shackles, convex ORVM on bonnet edge (Land cruiser style), LED light bar right across the windscreen, LED spot lights, rear ladder, jerry can, hi-lift jack and F1 type brake lamps underneath the body, among others.
The rear bumper has DRLs stuck on it and ill-fitted spoiler atop which too gets a couple of more DRLs. Man, this guy loves DRLs.All these modifications are not as extreme as the wide monster truck tires fitted to this car. The wheels are so wide that they cut outside the bodyline of the XUV by a good 6-7 inches, which is very, very wide indeed almost truck-like. Though this might make the XUV look like a monster, it also has its own disadvantages. The size and additional weight of the wheels and the additional friction caused by the extra wide tires puts additional stress on the drive-train components like the clutch, the differential, the gearbox as well as the engine, but it seems as though the XUV is taking it all in its stride and the car has been running without problems, though the top speed, acceleration and fuel efficiency figures have all definitely dropped.
These extreme modifications were carried out by Hot Machines, an Auto accessories store located in Bangalore and the XUV can often be found in and around Kammanahalli, in Bangalore.
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Also see – Mahindra XUV500 crosses river on a boat
