Tata Q501 SUV spotted on test in Pune

06/07/2017 - 12:00 Tata Q501, Tata Motors, Spy pictures Sagar Parikh

5- and 7-seat premium Tata SUVs coming with Land Rover and Fiat hardware.

Tata Motors is working on a new SUV codenamed 'Tata Q501' and is testing its prototypes since early 2017. In the latest, Team-BHP has published spy photos of its prototype on test in Pune.

Tata Q501 rear three quarters right side spy shot — The Tata Q501 is based on the platform of the Land Rover Discovery Sport (codename: Land Rover L550).

Tata Motors acquired Jaguar Land Rover in 2008, and after nine years, the company has found a way to establish a direct cooperation with products. The Tata Q501 is based on the Land Rover Discovery Sport (codename: Land Rover L550)'s platform, which is called the 'Q' platform for the stable of utility vehicles planned under the Tata Motors brand. The LR Discovery Sport's platform is a substantially revised version of the Freelander and Range Rover Evoque's chassis.

Tata Motors is testing the Tata Q501 still under a Land Rover Discovery Sport shell, suggesting that development is still in the early stages. The Q501 could introduce a new design language for Tata that would trickle into its next-gen vehicles.

The Tata Q501 will reportedly share the floor pan and structural components with the LR Discovery Sport, but get the Jeep Compass' 2.0-litre Multijet II diesel engine instead of the VARICOR or Ingenium diesel engine. The 2.0-litre Multijet II engine develops 172 PS and 350 Nm of torque in the Jeep and is made at the Tata Motors-FCA JV's plant in Ranjangaon near Pune. Tata Motors has ordered 70,000 units of this engine for the Q501 and the Q502 (7-seat variant) SUVs, another report said.