Mahindra Adventure concluded the 156th edition of their Great Escape event in Lonavala on 14 January. This year saw 21 Mahindra SUVs partaking in the challenging off-road affair.
The flag-off for the said off-road bash had the regular Mahindra jing-bang show up with Boleros, Scorpios and, of course, the much-favoured vehicle for these events, the Thar. The location of Lonavala, in the Sahyadri hills, has been a regular choice for Mahindra’s Great Escape proceedings. The location houses a picturesque natural arena, made by Mother Earth herself, with thick woods, waterfalls, and lakes. Last year, Car India’s very own Joshua had the pleasure of being part of the experience. Read all about that by clicking the link below.
Also read: Mahindra Adventure Great Escape Lonavala 2018 – No Tarmac in Sight
The last day of the event saw Mahindra cars with the works take on a number of difficult obstacles, called the ‘Trophy Round’. This year there were three categories: Stock Category, which was won by Ravi Bhalla, Modified Category, where Digvijay Singh Parmar took the victory, and the Ladies Class Category, which saw Dr Vani Parmar take the top spot.
The Great Escape was first started by Mahindra in 1996 as a non-competitive, off-road rally encouraging owners to test their metal and showcase the rugged rough-and-tough ability of their vehicles. Today, the story is quite different with the above-mentioned trophies and competition. However, they have stuck with the roots of the event by introducing owners to the off-roading jamboree.
Mahindra Adventure have a number of these popular events year-round such as the Mahindra Great Escape, Sakleshpur, where yours truly attended and was blown away with the occurrences, in the beautiful location of the Kadamane Tea Estate. To read about that click the link below.
Also read: Mahindra Adventure Great Escape, Sakleshpur – Slush, Slopes, and SUVs
The Indian auto giant, in addition, also has a number of expeditions consisting of various days and difficulties. Some of these are the Monastery Escape, Himalayan Spiti Escape, Authentic Bhutan, Royal Escape, and the mammoth 14-day journey to the Mount Everest base camp called ‘the Summit’. Take note, the cars will not be actually ‘summiting’ the mountain for anyone who may want to know.
Also read: Mahindra Adventure Authentic Bhutan 2018 – The Druk Yul Expedition
Story: Zal Cursetji
