Land Rover Discovery Sport-based Tata Q501/Q502 launching in 2018 - Report
The Fiat 2L MultiJet diesel engine will be used.
Reports are rife that Tata Motors is working on a flagship product, using for the first time a Land Rover platform. The SUV in question is codenamed Tata Q501/Q502, and according to a new report on Autocar India, will launch in 2018.
The Tata Q501/Q502 will share its floor pan and structural components with the Land Rover Discovery Sport, which is assembled in India at the car maker's Pune plant. However, the Tata offering will have its own design and identity, the report states.
It will be powered by a Fiat-sourced 2.0-liter MultiJet II diesel engine paired to 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions. Naturally, 2WD and 4WD variants will be offered. The 170 bhp engine is also expected to power the Jeep C-Segment SUV (codename Jeep 551), which will be made in India next year. Hence, the two companies could explore the possibility of locally assembling this engine and benefit from volumes of scale.
Also read: Tata Tiago - First Drive Review
When launched in 2018, the Tata Q501/Q502 will rival the likes of the Toyota Fortuner (the new generation model will launch in India next year), Ford Endeavour and Hyundai Santa Fe. However for this year, Tata plans on launching the Hexa - sometime in mid-2016 - to take on the Mahindra XUV500.
[Source - Autocar India]