Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen more conceptual SUVs of the similar kind from SsangYong than we care to remember, with the automaker preparing one more for next month’s Geneva Motor Show. Now, SsangYong is getting ready to materialize these studies into a production car for a compact-sized SUV that our spies captured in Europe.
The model seen here is believed to be based on a platform codenamed X100 and will be the first joint product between SsangYong and India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, which acquired the South Korean company in 2011.
A report from Reuters today mentioned that SsangYong will launch the SUV next year with a new engine lineup, also co-developed with Mahindra, which will eventually have its own version of the car.
“Mahindra most likely will have a … version of it on that (X100) platform,” said Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra’s automotive and farm equipment sectors. “There are future products that we will collaborate on where a common platform either of Mahindra or Ssangyong could potentially be used for both,” the Indian company’s executive added.
Details on the powertrain remain thin, but it has been rumored that one of the engines being developed is a 1.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine with variable valve timing and direct injection.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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