The age-old city of Kanchipuram, in Tamil Nadu, is known for its magnificent temples and the exquisite silk wear. Now it will also be known for something more modern and state-of-the-art, the Mahindra SUV Proving Track (MSPT). Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. today officially opened the doors to the MSPT today, for Mahindra Engineers to test the SUV products in a variety of terrains and simulations. Inaugurated by Dr. Anish Shah, MD & CEO, M&M Ltd. in the presence of Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sector, Veejay Nakra, CEO, Automotive Division and Velusamy R, Chief of Global Product Development, Automotive Division, this proving track is arguably one of the biggest and comprehensive automotive proving grounds owned by an automobile OEM in India.
As we build a strong Authentic SUV brand with adventure capability, MSPT will house the very strategic 4X4 Center of Excellence where the Mahindra team will innovate on creating break through solutions. In 2022 the track will be opened for auto passionate customers to have a world-class off-roading experience in a specially curated track.
The track is just 55 km away from the Mahindra Research Valley where all Mahindra SUVs are developed. The MRV engineers can now extensively test the product and also ready them for homologation (Govt. Certification) in this custom-made facility.
Veluswamy R., Chief of Global Product Development said,
“The brand-new Proving Track compliments and completes MRV where our products are conceived. It is a dream come true for everyone involved in the product development process within Mahindra. It’s a driver’s paradise designed to shape powerful and desirable machines.”
MSPT has been developed with an investment of Rs 510 crore and is built over 454 acres of land at Cheyyar SIPCOT Industrial Area. Just to put it in perspective, it can house more than 325 football grounds! Designed by IDIADA, the Spanish institution with half a century of experience in building proving grounds, the MSPT commands its place amongst the best such facilities in the world. It took three years for completion of this track.
MSPT – Fast Facts
The MSPT has 20 purpose-built tracks which are fully in operational.
· These include Zero percent slope High Speed test track with a 43.7-degree parabolic banking for higher neutral speed testing. In the straight high-speed road, vehicles can reach over 200 kph.
· In addition to that an arrow straight 2 km, 11m wide road with zero % longitudinal slope is built for performance and coast down measurements.
· The circular dynamic platform that spans 250 meters in diameter is meant for Vehicle dynamics development and evaluation.
· What goes fast needs to stop too. A Braking pad with 6 different surfaces, and dry and wet tracks is are built to test braking, ABS, ESP and TCS.
· A General Highway Durability track and a Simulated City track are built for simulating public road durability.
· An Accelerated test track which has all imaginable bad road surfaces including potholes, undulations, Belgian pavement, cobble stone, rumblers and various kinds of wash board & speed breakers are factored into it.
· The world out there is unpredictable with storms and floods, MSPT can simulate rain, water wading and water splash. Also, it can simulate dust storm in a chamber.
· MSPT houses a Full Vehicle corrosion test facility with humidity chamber.
· A 4X4 Adventure track that has over 25 obstacles for testing 4X4 and AWD vehicles will ensure that the future Mahindra SUVs are capable off-road as well as on road. More details below
· Exclusive prototype workshops, health centre and an administration tower that can house over 200 engineers completes the MSPT facility.
· And yes, MSPT has its own fuel station. Lest someone run dry!
4×4 customer experience zone
A 4×4 specific off-road track has been built at the MSPT to help enthusiasts and experts gain experience of adventurous terrains. This exclusive facility has multiple off-road set ups like up and down hills (slopes 7, 11, 18, and 35 degree), drive thru forest/woods, riverbeds (0.9m and 1.2m deep), mud, slush, sand, rock beds, sea saw, wooden bridge over river pass, hard and soft articulation, wood logs, railway sleepers, a dead drop etc. Customers will be able to enjoy the drive experience from these off-road tracks from the second half of 2022.
Highlights
- · One of the biggest proving tracks owned by an OEM in India.
- · Built over 454 acres of land by L&T and designed by IDIADA, (Institut d’Investigació Aplicada de l’Automòbil – Institute for Applied Automotive Research).
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