Mahindra’s upcoming MPV is the Marazzo

Known till now by its codename U321, Mahindra & Mahindra's upcoming MPV finally has an official name – the Marazzo. The Marazzo name has been derived from a word in the Spanish language of Basque, which translates into ‘shark’ in English.

The Marazzo is the first passenger car to be developed at Mahindra’s North American Technical Centre, and has been co-designed by Pininfarina and Mahindra’s Kandivali design studio, in Mumbai. Ananthan Ramkripa, chief designer at Mahindra, says the design of the Marazzo is inspired by a shark, with several elements – inside and out – styled to mimic certain aspects of a shark.  

The Marazzo MPV will be offered in seven- and eight-seat configurations, and in line with other Mahindras, expect the Marazzo to be packed with creature comforts and equipment such as Mahindra's latest infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, steering-mounted audio controls, automatic climate control with vents for all three rows, projector headlamps, daytime running lights and more.

The Marazzo will debut Mahindra’s new 1.5-litre diesel engine, likely to produce around 121hp and 300Nm, which will be paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. Going forward, Mahindra could also look at offering an automatic transmission on the Marazzo.

Mahindra says the Marazzo does not replace any of its existing products, and is not a successor to the Xylo, but is instead a premium product positioned slightly above it. Size-wise, the Marazzo will slot in between the upcoming second-generation Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta, but will be closer to the former in terms of price.

Speaking at the name reveal in Mumbai today, Dr Pawan Goenka, managing director, M&M, said, “The shark-inspired Marazzo symbolises the next generation of aspirational Mahindra vehicles. A collaborative effort of Pininfarina, Mahindra Design Studio, MNATC and MRV, the Marazzo is born of a vision to design a global vehicle with quality and refinement keeping in mind the aspirations of our customers.”

Rajan Wadhera, president - Automotive Sector, M&M, said, “The intense process of development and refinement of the Marazzo is comparable to any global vehicle and incorporates a number of innovations. This has delivered better space, smoother ride with a quieter cabin, best-in-class cooling, excellent safety and a tough body construction in the Marazzo. In fact the Marazzo has the largest footprint (wheelbase x front track) of any Mahindra vehicle. I am confident that it will set a new benchmark and become a  game-changer in  its segment”. 

M&M says the Mahindra Marazzo has been benchmarked against global standards of quality, technology, testing and validation norms, safety, regulations and emission. The MPV has undergone the most rigorous testing any Mahindra vehicle has ever been subjected to. It will be manufactured at the company’s manufacturing facility at Nasik, in Maharashtra and is gearing up for a commercial launch before the end of Q2 FY2019.

Autocar Professional learns that M&M has set up capacity to produce around 7,000 units a month, with peak capacity expected to be reached next year. Start of serial production is expected by mid-September 2018.