Didn't see this coming: Mahindra's wild new Thar Sport hybrid targeting the BYD 2026 Denza B5, Toyota Prado, Jeep Wrangler and GWM Tank 300 confirmed for Australia

Mahindra has finally confirmed the Jeep Wrangler-style body-on-frame Thar as we know it will not be imported to Australia.

That’s the bad news. Blame booming demand in India, leading to waiting times stretching into years, effectively putting exports to new markets on hold. An ongoing legal dispute with Jeep over design similarities to the Wrangler is also a barrier that has yet to be resolved.

The good news is that a rugged, hybrid-ready next-generation off-road-capable alternative that melds classic Thar-inspired design and proportions with Land Rover Defender-like monocoque engineering for elevated efficiency, performance, refinement, dynamics and safety, has been confirmed for Australia instead.

Closely previewed by the Vision Thar-e electric vehicle (EV) concept of 2023, the production version set to debut later next year may carry the Thar Sport badge when it lands here in 2027 as the brand’s flagship.

Mahindra Head of International Operations, Sachin Arolkar, announced the decision to ditch the traditional Thar for Thar Sport in Australia to the Australian media at the company’s sprawling Mahindra Research Valley development headquarters near Chennai last week.

“On the Thar front, this has been a topic for Australia for some time now… (but) the current form of the Thar will not be (coming),” he said.

“But we are working on new products… and those will be definitely be for Australia.

“So, both on the manufacturing side and on the product development side, there are certain products which are being developed, which will enable us to occupy the (same) space (as the Thar).

“As a concept, we had unveiled… the (Vision) Thar-e in South Africa. That was more an EV thing, but we will be having our regular ICE (internal combustion engine) on that… and that will be launched in Australia.

“The name can be different, but what you saw in South Africa, you will get it in Australia ­– but with ICE.”

What the Thar Sport production powertrain will be exactly is not yet known. But a hybrid in either diesel or petrol configuration has been speculated, as has a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and a range-extender EV.

Additionally, as per the Vision Thar-e, a pure EV grade is expected later. This would reportedly be built on a variation of Mahindra’s advanced INGLO scalable EV architecture, ushering in a large battery pack offering over 500km of range and a sub-10-second 0-100km/h sprint-time.

The platform’s modularity also means that three-door/short-wheelbase and five-door/long-wheelbase wagon configurations will also be produced.

With a bold geometric design and generous ground clearances that hark back to Mahindra Automotive’s origins building the Willys Overland Jeep CJ3A under licence in India from 1947, the Thar Sport will be unashamedly retro, but possess enough progressive styling cues to differentiate it from the regular Thar 4WD. Leaning on its expertise, Italy’s Pininfarina design studio has been under Mahindra’s control since 2015.

“(The production version of the Vision Thar.e) is very, very similar to the concept,” Arolkar revealed.

With the coming Thar Sport’s standout design and advanced technologies, it may become the most expensive Mahindra ever sold in Australia.

This allows for the existing, traditional Thar to continue and evolve below it, as the tougher and more traditional 4WD wagon choice in India and other markets.

With a Mahindra spokesperson confirming that increasing production capacity to sate demand is being planned, Australia may eventually see the classic version as well.

Interestingly, parallels can be drawn between the two Thar models in India and Toyota in Japan, where the 250 Series Prado will be joined by the similar yet completely unrelated production version of the LandCruiser Se EV concept shown as the 2023 Tokyo Mobility Show. That’s said to arrive around the same time as the Mahindra in 2027.