Mahindra Scorpio claims Simpson Desert record

The 2023 Mahindra Scorpio four-wheel drive wagon has established a record across the formidable Simpson Desert in central Australia.

Indian car-maker Mahindra has put the new Scorpio four-wheel drive to the test in the remote Simpson Desert and set what it claims is newly established record.

The Mahindra Scorpio has been recognised by Guinness World Records for the “fastest crossing by a production vehicle of the Simpson desert”, and is the first established record of this kind.

However, this is not your usual speed record. Average speed was 28.84km/h on the 385km journey that took a total of 13 hours, 21 minutes and five seconds. Most holidaymakers comfortably take up to five days to travel the same distance, which covers more than 1100 sand dunes.

The Mahindra Scorpio drove east to west, from the remote township of Birdsville to the Alka Seltzer Bore on the 16th of March 2023 but the company has only announced the achievement today.

READ MORE: Mahindra Scorpio Review

The vehicles were driven by four-wheel-drive experts Gene Corbett and Ben Robinson.

The Simpson Desert – which is managed by Queensland and South Australian National Parks authorities – is closed to travellers between Decem­ber 1 and March 15 each year due to extreme temperatures, and Mahindra recorded peak outside temperatures of 50 degrees during the record attempt.

In a media statement, Mahindra executive Sachin Arolkar said: “We are proud to have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with this vehicle.”

Alka Seltzer Bore is located some 60 kilometres east of Dalhousie Springs in the Witjira National Park, and around 75 kilometres east of the well-known Mount Dare Hotel.

READ MORE: Crossing the Simpson Desert

The vehicle was left in mostly standard configuration, but had some aftermarket Cooper all-terrain tyres, the back two rows of seating removed for additional fuel storage. The Scorpio’s swaybars were also removed for the record attempt.

The Mahindra Scorpio is a new four-wheel drive wagon for the Australian market, is priced from $41,990 for the Z8 model, while the Z8L got a recent price rise.

It is powered by a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine, which runs through a six-speed automatic transmission and makes 129kW @ 3500rpm and 400Nm @ 1700-2750rpm.

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