It was a revelation to see everything that goes into making these cars what they are.
BHPian ashishk29 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
The greatest opportunity that a new Mahindra BE 6 owner could ask for!
When I saw this drive planned and shared, of course, I rushed to submit my application as fast as I could. And just a couple of days later, I received a confirmation. I was over the moon and back! Having enjoyed my BE 6 over the span of the last few months, of course, I was thrilled to get the chance to peek behind the curtains. To see where this all started and came to fruition.
After a pretty scenic flight down to Chennai, I landed quite early.
My airport pickup was waiting for me, and it was a ~2-hour drive down to MRV. Ankur graciously welcomed me, and I had some time to freshen up.
Right after breakfast was time to roll out for day 1!
Day 1: A tour of MRV labs, and insights into BEV development
We were greeted at MRV, got a refreshing beverage, and got a nice little cap, along with our badges for the duration of the visit.
Nice touch!
Fortunately, I knew some of the attendees.
The legendary Mr Anuj Purohit (purohitanuj), darkgamer, and I had the pleasure of being introduced to ferrarirules.
We had lots of catching up to do, and 4 beautiful-looking cars to look at while we were at it.
I also met members of Team BHP for the first time, VIZ Aditya, Omkar, and, of course, GTO.
We had a great time chatting with Mr Salil, and Mr Siddharth from Mahindra.
Talking to Salil made us realise just how many automotive enthusiasts Mahindra has amongst its ranks! And the BE 6 is clear proof of that.
Then we moved on to have some lunch, and after that, it was time for the details!
We started off with an overview of MRV, and how it came about.
We were then given an overview of the INGLO as a platform, and Mr Senthur kindly walked us through the details.
It was interesting to know the kind of details that had been considered and worked with to bring the INGLO platform into being.
Then Mr Binoy gave us a deep dive into the software architecture of the BEVs.
Being a tech enthusiast and a systems software developer, this was the part I enjoyed the most. There is so much computing power packed into these cars, on top of all the physical power they possess as well.
After the presentations, Mr Senthur and Mr Binoy took up questions from all the BHPians present. We got very detailed answers, and got to know even more tidbits with each question.
And finally, we were graced by Mr Velusamy himself.
The vision that brought us the BEVs. He spent a good amount of time talking to all of us BHPians. But most importantly, he made sure to spend extra time talking to us 3 BEV owners present there! He had a very keen ear for all our feedback. Special thanks to him for taking the time from his busy schedule!
After this, we were off to the labs.
First we saw the lab that tests the entire electronics jig that goes into the cars.
These rigs have all the individual electronics attached and are fed simulation data from powerful computers.
Since the entire system is wired up (down to the lights and the speakers and the RADARs), this makes for a very holistic simulation. These rigs run regressions non-stop.
The massive compute infra that goes into each of these cars:
The audio-vis system testing rigs:
Next up was the battery testing lab.
This is the monolith that packs enough power to propel the 2-ton+ cars for 500+ kilometers, at impressive speeds!
Each of these packing dozens of BYD Blade cells. We also got to see the individual cell-level testing conducted, which tests for thermal resilience, charge/discharge behaviour with varying temperatures, and more.
The most impressive machine was probably the rig that could test for vibrations, thermal resistance, while cycling through an accelerated ageing test!
Even the motor testing rig has its own climate chamber, which can simulate various temperatures and humidity levels, while the motor is being simulated by the dual dynamometers!
This concluded day 1. After a high tea, we returned to the hotel for some more dinner-time conversations.
Next up, Day 2!
Day 2: Drive down to MSPT, and experience MSPT fully!
Day 2 kicked off early, with breakfast at 0630, and all set to go by 0700. The plan was to drive from Mahindra World City down to MSPT. A ~2-hour drive through some nice views.
The lineup was ready! A selection of both BE 6 and XEV 9Es waiting for us!
We were greeted by Mr Prakash Rao, and he took the time to speak to us despite just having flown in from abroad.
And with the flag off, we hit the road.
Since darkgamer and I both own BE6s, we decided to try our hands on an XEV.
Suffice to say, there is no shortage of cabin space on the ride along.
It was pleasant outside, and in about 2 hours time, we reached MSPT.
After some refreshments, we were ready for the day. We went through a briefing about the MSPT, and what we could expect from the day.
First on our agenda was a tour of the test track designed to mimic various real-world conditions such as heavy dust, heavy rains, cobblestone roads, all qualities of pavement from good to worst, and more.
There is a great amount of work that goes into validating the NVH of the vehicles, using these exact surfaces.
There were also 3 surfaces designed to have extremely low grip. They gave us a demo of the ABS, traction control, and ESP capabilities of the car.
0.15mu is a heck of a test to see the stability of the car.
Then it was down to the high-speed track. Excitement was running high! Everybody was pumped to have a go at this.
We were given 3 runs of the HST. 2 in one car, and then 1 in the other.
This gave me a great sense of confidence in the car! Normally, such speeds are not doable on public roads. But in such safe environments, it is good to get a feel of what the cars can truly achieve.
The 43-degree banked curve was too daunting, though. Maybe next time, hopefully
Post that, we tested the manoeuvrability of these cars in a slalom test and a small handling course.
We got a quick demo of the AEBS component of the ADAS using a human dummy and a demo of the self-parking feature.
Self park is always fun to watch
Followed by this was a crack at their off-road trail, in a selection of Thar 4x4s! I picked a diesel manual, since there’s nothing like a diesel on an off-road trail. We were given a brief about what to expect, and how to handle it. We had walkie-talkies in each car.
And we set off. This was my literally first time going full blown off-road, and what a rush it was!
The adrenaline hit hard and sustained. It’s not every day you see the hood of your car pointing at the sky! And what a charm the Thar was on this trail. Not a single moment where it felt like I was going to get stuck.
No matter what the trail threw at it, it just chewed it down and kept pushing on. In another life, it would’ve been extreme fun to own a 4×4 Diesel manual Thar. And for a total newbie to off-road, that is a great testimonial for the car.
Then we had a well-rounded lunch, and off to the 3 more test facilities right there at MSPT!
First off was the crash test lab. And the whole thing is beyond impressive. They have built a facility that can easily test not only against BNCAP standards, but even GNCAP and Euro NCAP.
The whole thing is modular, and can even be updated to accommodate more tests!
As someone who prioritises safety at the highest in a car purchase, this gave me a great sense of relief. Safety is paramount, and Mahindra is going above and beyond to ensure it.
We then went to the cell research lab, where they had incredibly exotic instruments like a scanning electron microscope, a diffractometer, just to be able to study the degradation of electrode materials at a molecular level. This will lead to a deep understanding of cell chemistry, and will certainly lead to future improvements.
Overall, MRV and MSPT were truly awe-inspiring. The depth of considerations that goes into not only the design, but also the testing and validation of everything designed under the roof.
Mahindra has done something truly remarkable with the INGLO platform and these 2 cars. And as the owner of one, it was a revelation to see everything that goes into making these cars what they are.
Thank you again, Team-BHP and Mahindra.
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