With the initial planning out of the way, the basic foundation of the 24 Hours Speed Endurance Challenge was coming together nicely. Our objective was clear, smashing the national record for covering the maximum distance in 24 hours, so was our choice of a vehicle to do it with, the Mahindra XUV700. And with the driver lineup in place, only the location was left to be finalised. And, having already sampled Mahindra’s brand new state of the art development facility outside Chennai, we realised that the High Speed Track would be the perfect place to do it.
The MSPT is the very track where we drove the XUV700 last month during the first drive and it is truly a world-class proving ground. The MSPT is spread over 454 acres – making it one of the biggest proving grounds owned by an OEM in India. The facility consists of multiple test tracks which can simulate multiple driving and weather conditions, along with a dedicated fuel station. For the purpose of our record run, we were solely focussed on the High Speed Track which is a 4.019 km long oval. There are plenty of armco barriers for safety, and this High Speed Track features two 43.7 degree bankings which are lit up at night joined by two long straights where you can hit (and even cross) 200kmph on the XUV700.
In a conversation with the Head of MSPT, Husain Agha, he mentioned that, earlier the development team had to travel to different parts of the country to test and validate a car but with the MSPT operational now, this process has been simplified. Agha went on to add that this ‘outdoor lab’ allows engineers to test and evaluate cars with freedom and that freedom of operation is what results in fantastic products like the XUV700.
What was it like driving the XUV on those bankings at full pelt? Stay tuned to the 24 Hours Speed Endurance Challenge to know more.