Meet the Mahindra Roxor. It’s a two-seat vehicle powered by a 2.5L four-stroke diesel that makes 62 horsepower and 144 ft/lbs of torque, shifts via a five-speed manual transmission, runs a two-speed transfer case with 3.73 gears in both axles, runs a disc front/drum rear brake setup, has leaf springs at all four corners, a twelve-volt charging system, and is available to buy right now. It’s even built in the United States and is devoid of just about every possible unnecessary luxury out there. You get two seats, one gauge, and the ability to scramble around pretty much like your great-grandaddy did back in the 1940s while he was on a very strange European tour…and at about the same 45 MPH top speed.
Mahindra is one of the few companies that got the licenses to build the civilian Jeeps after World War Two (Mitsubishi got that license as well) and for years, did just that. And they still do, with one big exception: they are no longer street legal. This is the Roxor, a vehicle that is a hybrid of CJ-3 era designs and CJ-7 looks and overall feel. In other words, every Jeep fan out there is doing a happy dance just looking at it. They aren’t going to love that grille, for sure, but by all accounts Mahindra has stayed true to what the CJ formula is. They are even working on a PTO option for the Mahindra-built transfer case, just like the early CJs had. Screw the low horsepower rating and the whole “diesel bad” thing…this sounds like the ultimate score, right?
Hold yer horses…one fault: The Roxor is not a street-legal vehicle. Instead, it’s classified as a side-by-side UTV…which means it’s right there with Polaris RZRs, Can-Am Mavericks and Yamaha Vikings. That’s an interesting market to gate-crash with a vehicle that might as well be a brand-new CJ-7. The temptation is there, but unless you live in a state that allows a UTV to be tagged for street use, such as Arizona, you’re looking at an expensive option, with Roxors expecting to sell for about fifteen grand when they finally start delivering. What are your thoughts, readers? Is the temptation there for you, or does the UTV classification shoot that idea down?
62 horse power?
45 mph top speed?
I think there will be whole warehouses full of these things and eventually they’ll be almost giving them away. All we need is for somebody to bulk buy a few and give then a make over in the suspension and motor department. Anybody fancy a coil sprung Hellcat powered Mahindra Shiva…..
I think you\’re dead wrong. Those that don\’t want to cough up the cash for the $20,000-$25,000 Polaris and aren\’t hypnotized by the John Deere green \”because Luke Bryan said so\”…will be interested in these things. Maybe not at $15,000 but at $10-$12k…yep. Not everyone wants a UTV to jump over stuff and sling rooster tails.
No thanks. I’d rather have traditional side-by-side or a coil spring Jeep.
Do the rear frames pre maturely rot out like the 1987 – 2006 YJ’s and TJ’s ??
If not: then change the body from a CJ to a 1952 M38 military type, price them at 10k. Paint them all shades of matt olive green/desert tan.Our Punjab friends would not be able to build them fast enough….
Wait re read the article, made in the USA, awesome ! Where ?
been on the phone with 3 Mahindra dealers here in the south ( 2 are former dealers starting a class action lawsuit, with a few more from other states !! )
Mahindra products are mostly made in India, shipped in components, and assembled in the USA, especially the pretty parts, according to them. They filled my ear with dire warnings. Guess time will tell.
Nope I’ll just buy another actual CJ-7 if I get a sudden craving to beat my back and kidneys up like the good old days.