Ricardo100 Global Challenge uses Mahindra Scorpio for passage through India

The Indian leg of the Ricardo Global Challenge around the world charity relay reached New Delhi yesterday, where a reception and business networking event was hosted at the residence of the British High Commissioner.

For the Indian leg of the Ricardo100 Global Challenge, the Ricardo India team is driving a new-generation Mahindra Scorpio. The vehicle’s 5MT320 five-speed manual transmission, the result of a design and development collaboration between Ricardo and Mahindra engineers, is a part of the new-generation platform on which Mahindra has built its New Generation Scorpio.

Following the reception, the Ricardo India team is now driving from New Delhi to the foothills of the Himalayas in the state of Himachal Pradesh. After this, the Ricardo100 Global Challenge will move on to China, Japan and the United States, before returning to the UK in July. 

The Ricardo100 Global Challenge is being run as part of the company’s celebrations of the 100th anniversary of its formation in 2015. Teams of Ricardo employees are taking part in sections of the relay using vehicles of significance to Ricardo’s past and present, visiting places of significance to the company, as well as events such as the reception and business networking session in New Delhi. The teams are raising money for local, national and international charitable causes, and Ricardo has pledged to match the first £15,000 in total donations.

“It has been great to welcome the Ricardo100 Global Challenge to India and I am extremely pleased to be able to share its arrival in New Delhi with many of our Indian customers,” commented Ricardo India president Mayank Agochiya. “Ricardo enjoys many longstanding business relationships with India’s leading companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, which has kindly loaned us one of its vehicles for this section of the relay. The Ricardo100 Global Challenge is a true celebration of the history of Ricardo while also demonstrating the highly international profile and reach of our company today.” 
“Mahindra and Ricardo have collaborated successfully in India for many years,” said Rajan Wadhera, president and CEO of Mahindra Truck & Powertrain, and head of the Mahindra Research Valley. “Our two companies share a very strong engineering ethos, a passion for excellence and a laser like focus upon delivering customer satisfaction in our product engineering efforts. I wish the Ricardo100 Global Challenge teams the very best with their charitable endeavours and am pleased to have been able to donate the loan of a Mahindra vehicle featuring a transmission co-developed with Ricardo, for the Indian leg of the challenge.”  

British High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan KCMG, added: “The UK is the world leader in cutting-edge design and innovation. From building the first sports car, the British motor industry has created many of the most recognised and coveted cars in the world. Ricardo’s relationship with Mahindra is a classic example of this. It is also a manifestation of the spirit of ‘Great Collaborations’ between the UK and India. As we mark the centenary of Ricardo, we also acknowledge the importance of ‘Designed in the UK, Made in India’. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi too recognised the potential of our relationship and called the UK and India ‘an unbeatable combination to forge successful partnerships that can bring immense benefits to both countries’.”