2024 Mahindra Thar five-door rendered

By now most of our discerning readers will be aware the Mahindra Thar 4x4 has been blocked from the Australian market in the wake of a legal battle with Jeep over the exterior design of the go-anywhere Indian off-roader.

Jeep claimed the Thar looked too much like the Wrangler and eventually won the case, forcing Mahindra to go back to the drawing board if the Thar is ever to be sold here.

While we wait for that to happen, digital automotive designer SRK Designs has mocked up a speculative vision of what a five-door Thar could look like, and the answer is Wrangler Overland-like.

Following a similar recipe to the long-wheelbase, five-door Suzuki Jimny XL, it seems the entirety of the stretched Thar’s newfound length has been added between the axles, specifically to accommodate the rear doors and extra rear legroom, given the front and rear overhangs are as stout as ever.

Look a little closer, however, and you might realise this isn’t just a five-door Thar – this could be an unofficial look at the redesigned model earmarked to come to Australia.

Up front there’s a smaller front fascia featuring a totally redesigned six-slot grille (smaller, matte-black and octagonal shaped) and headlight arrangement – though it’s clearly still a Thar – complemented by a new contour line that looks quite like an eyebrow.

Other changes include a more sophisticated alloy wheel design, mildly tweaked B-pillar and some harsher creases down the flanks of the body – plus the rear doors.

It’s still unclear whether we’ll see a redesigned Thar model Down Under, but a flurry of official Mahindra concept cars and design patents suggests there will be a next-generation battery-electric version of the iconic Indian 4x4 that will take a huge leap away from its traditional design ethos.

Said Vision Thar.e concept debuted in August 2023 as a ‘near-production’ vehicle, previewing Mahindra’s transition to the zero-emissions off-road vehicle market with a futuristic design wearing only a couple of Wrangler-inspired touches, along with a couple of Land Rover Defender and Ford Bronco-esque features.

Details are still thin on the ground, but the rugged EV is tipped to enter production sometime this year, which could pave the way for a potential market introduction here in 2025.

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