When you read Force Motors, you immediately picture tractors and other utility vehicles. Many of you probably don’t even know about its existence and if you live in an urban area, then the Traveller is probably the only Force model you have ever come across. Force Motors is an Indian auto company which mainly produces utilitarian vehicles.
The company now hopes to change this, with their new SUV model, which they hope will help change the perception of buyers, like Scorpio did for Mahindra. Last December, we had covered about Force secretly building a new SUV model, which they hoped would change the company’s fortunes.
It now looks like the SUV will soon see the light of day and mark Force Motors’ first foray in the passenger car segment. While they haven’t revealed their product yet, spy shots of the new SUV point out that the model is apparently based on a little known Foday Guandong Explorer III Chinese SUV.
It is understood that Force Motors purchased the auto parts for the body, while sourcing the interiors from Thailand. The spy shots reveal a boxy shape which does not appear very appealing, falling short of the style standards that you would expect from today’s SUVs. Force Motors though hope to compensate for this by adding sturdy mechanics to their SUV.
The chassis is created of a strong C-in-C construction, featuring coil spring suspensions for the rear, whereas the front features a torsion bar set up. This model is powered by the Mercedes OM 611 providing 140bhp and a peak torque of 35kgm through a manual five speed transmission.
This turbo diesel 2.2 liter motor is the same one which powered the W210 E-Class during its 2000 launch. While the engine is now an entire generation old, it still manages to be compatible with the new Bharat Stage IV rules. The engine also promises to deliver better refinement and performance compared to Tata and Mahindra’s homegrown engines.
Though the engine is built by Force through its license with Mercedes, it is not yet clear, whether Mercedes will allow use of its brand name for the vehicle. As we had mentioned earlier, the handling and ride of the SUV were tuned by Lotus Engineering. It is currently in its sign-off stage before it begins production around June. The SUV will reportedly be priced somewhere between Rs 10 to 12 lakhs, and includes features like ABS and air bags.
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