A few days ago Mahindra announced that it will auction the first Thar and the proceeds from the auction will be donated towards the fight against COVID-19. Now, Thar #1 has been auctioned off for an amount of Rs 1.11 crore. The winning bid was submitted by Aakash Minda from New Delhi.
Along with the bidding amount, Mahindra will also donate the matching amount of the winning bid to the charity of the customer’s choice. The donation will be made to any of the three charities: Naandi Foundation, Swades Foundation or PM CARES fund.
As announced before by Mahindra, Akash will now be given an option to choose the variant and colour of his new Thar. In order to make this buy special, Thar #1 will get some exclusive elements. On the outside, the Thar will get a ‘Thar #1’ badging along with initials of the owner. On the inside, the seat covers and VIN plate on the dashboard will get a serial number’1’ written on them. Other than these, the auctioned Thar will be identical to the standard SUV.
Engines on offer include a 2.2-litre turbo petrol engine and a 2.0-litre diesel engine. Where the petrol engine makes 150PS and 300Nm (320Nm with automatic transmission), the diesel engine is good for 130PS and 300Nm. Both the engines will be offered with a 6-speed manual transmission and a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
Depending on the variant, the Thar gets features such as dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, front power windows, tyre pressure monitoring system, ESP with roll-over mitigation, ISOFIX child seat anchors, fog lamps, cruise control, tilt-adjustable steering, downhill assist, electric AC, height-adjustable driver’s seat and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
While the first Thar went for Rs 1.11 crore, prices of the standard Thar are expected to range from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 14 lakh. It will take on the likes of the Force Gurkha and other compact SUVs like the Kia Seltos, Renault Duster and the Hyundai Creta. Mahindra will launch the 2020 Thar on 2 October 2020 and bookings will also start on the same day.