Cool Jeeps You Can't Have - Mahindra of India
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
There's a Mahindra UK brochure available in eBay right now....https://www.ebay.com/itm/352388678180
jamesauto24
New member
my friend had a Mahindra MFS 2005. He traveled everywhere on it, there were no pritenzias. There was a little bit of power to the engine in the city when overtaking but this is a jeep and not a racing car. There are of course flaws but it does not affect the driving performance.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
A book about the history of Mahindra came out about 6 months ago: https://www.evoindia.com/features/car-features/timeless-mahindra-book-review
A few images from the book:
The book isn't available in the U.S. so I've ordered one from Amazon India to be delivered to relatives in Delhi; once it arrives it'll be sent along to me here. I expect this 300+ page book will fill in a lot of the gaps in my Mahindra knowledge and I'll share interesting facts and images from the book here.
BTW some of the drawings in the book seem to be borrowed from this web site: http://jeepfamily.cherokee-fr.com/, the site has quite a few Mahindra models pictured there as well as Jeeps from the U.S. and jeeps from around the world.
A few images from the book:
The book isn't available in the U.S. so I've ordered one from Amazon India to be delivered to relatives in Delhi; once it arrives it'll be sent along to me here. I expect this 300+ page book will fill in a lot of the gaps in my Mahindra knowledge and I'll share interesting facts and images from the book here.
BTW some of the drawings in the book seem to be borrowed from this web site: http://jeepfamily.cherokee-fr.com/, the site has quite a few Mahindra models pictured there as well as Jeeps from the U.S. and jeeps from around the world.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
No doubt you've heard about the pandemic crisis in India right now; Mahindra is helping out:
And, from the Indian aftermarket: Bimbra 4x4, a company that manufactures hardtops and many other accessories, recently came out with this "Covid Curtain":
It retails for 2790 Rupees, which is about $38 US.
And, from the Indian aftermarket: Bimbra 4x4, a company that manufactures hardtops and many other accessories, recently came out with this "Covid Curtain":
It retails for 2790 Rupees, which is about $38 US.
tyler.armijo
Member
That same thing here in the states would probably be $100 is the sad part
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
jscherb
Expedition Leader
This isn't a Mahindra, but it is Indian and worth taking a look. The vehicle in the first two photos is the Toofan from Force Motors. The Toofan (Urdu for typhoon or storm, also used in Hindi) is taking a lot of the rural taxi service away from the Mahindra Savari.
The current Toofan: https://www.forcemotors.com/vehicle/trax-toofan
There's a shorter wheelbase version called the Force Gurkha:
The Force Gurkha: http://www.forcegurkha.co.in/home-page/
A little more India background if I may... I took the photos of the Toofan at the top of this post in the ancient city of Hampi in the southern India state of Karnataka. In the second photo above you can see the ruins of one of the main marketplaces behind the Toofan and the Virupaksha temple a half mile away in the distance. The origins of the city date to the 7th century when the temple was built (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virupaksha_Temple,_Hampi).
The city prospered for centuries and was a major trading point in the silk and spice trading routes from the far east to Europe. Conquered and sacked in 1565 by Muslim invaders, it's been a ruin ever since. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampi
Hampi is one of the most fascinating places I've ever been in this world, and I don't think it gets too many non-Indian visitors, nowadays it's off the beaten path, even for India. When I was there, this I became an attraction for the locals... they're very friendly and asked me where I was from, how I liked India, etc. They were asking how tall I was (2 meters) and I had some fun with them and went down on one knee to be more their size
.
Just for reference, this Google Maps satellite view doesn't even show all the ruins and this view is more than 5 miles across.
And for Indian literature fans, Hampi is also the site of the mythical kingdom of Kishkinda in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana and there's a temple to the monkey god Hanuman on a mountaintop across the river from Hampi.
I could go on and on about Hampi and Kishkinda but I'll stop now.
Next: Back to Mahindras, maybe I'll post about the many aftermarket hardtops in the India.
The current Toofan: https://www.forcemotors.com/vehicle/trax-toofan
There's a shorter wheelbase version called the Force Gurkha:
The Force Gurkha: http://www.forcegurkha.co.in/home-page/
A little more India background if I may... I took the photos of the Toofan at the top of this post in the ancient city of Hampi in the southern India state of Karnataka. In the second photo above you can see the ruins of one of the main marketplaces behind the Toofan and the Virupaksha temple a half mile away in the distance. The origins of the city date to the 7th century when the temple was built (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virupaksha_Temple,_Hampi).
The city prospered for centuries and was a major trading point in the silk and spice trading routes from the far east to Europe. Conquered and sacked in 1565 by Muslim invaders, it's been a ruin ever since. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampi
Hampi is one of the most fascinating places I've ever been in this world, and I don't think it gets too many non-Indian visitors, nowadays it's off the beaten path, even for India. When I was there, this I became an attraction for the locals... they're very friendly and asked me where I was from, how I liked India, etc. They were asking how tall I was (2 meters) and I had some fun with them and went down on one knee to be more their size
.
Just for reference, this Google Maps satellite view doesn't even show all the ruins and this view is more than 5 miles across.
And for Indian literature fans, Hampi is also the site of the mythical kingdom of Kishkinda in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana and there's a temple to the monkey god Hanuman on a mountaintop across the river from Hampi.
I could go on and on about Hampi and Kishkinda but I'll stop now
.Next: Back to Mahindras, maybe I'll post about the many aftermarket hardtops in the India.
wanderernomad
New member
The Gurkha is a different beast than the Toofan. The shorter version was the Trax and then there was a midsized version called as the Gama. Also the Toofan has been relaunched as the Trax Cruiser now with a CRD Engine to meet the new BSVI norms. This vehicle is almost a mini bus on rural roads and will carry almost 24/25 people. It used to have an older (ancient) generation Mercedes Benz engine. Off road capabilities of the Gurkha almost rival that of the mahindras, however, the sales have been marred by an almost non existent sales attitude of the dealers. Here is a picture of the Gurkha from one of my road trips from the Arunachal State which borders China and Myanmar.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
Roplas was an early aftermarket hardtop company in India, operating since about 1965. At some point, I believe Mahindra was an owner or part owner of the company. As of sometime in 2020, the company was listed as being under liquidation, so after a more than 50-year run, Roplas hardtops are no longer available new.
They printed lots of brochures over their history.
I like the ambulance doors on this one:
They printed lots of brochures over their history.
I like the ambulance doors on this one:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Another model from Roplas.
This one was for sale for 15000 rupees, which is roughly $200 US. Includes the rear barn door with sliding window.
One thing about Indian hardtops - so many of them have barn doors or even ambulance doors in the back - I think the Indians got it right. Those rear door styles are far more functional and convenient than the Wrangler's two step lift-up hatch/swing out tailgate process. I wonder why there's only one aftermarket hardtop in the U.S. market with a barn door?
There are many aftermarket hardtops in India besides the Roplas, more to come.
This one was for sale for 15000 rupees, which is roughly $200 US. Includes the rear barn door with sliding window.
One thing about Indian hardtops - so many of them have barn doors or even ambulance doors in the back - I think the Indians got it right. Those rear door styles are far more functional and convenient than the Wrangler's two step lift-up hatch/swing out tailgate process. I wonder why there's only one aftermarket hardtop in the U.S. market with a barn door?
There are many aftermarket hardtops in India besides the Roplas, more to come.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Bimbra 4x4 is another aftermarket hardtop company in India. Their boxy hardtop has a rear barn door that attaches to the tailgate.
Bimbra: https://bimbra.in/inventory/frp-v3-0-hardtop/
A video from Bimbra showing removal of the factory soft top and installation of their hardtop. Both operations are a bit more involved than doing the same thing on a Wrangler.
I could show them a much simpler way to attach a barn door to a side-swing tailgate
Bimbra: https://bimbra.in/inventory/frp-v3-0-hardtop/
A video from Bimbra showing removal of the factory soft top and installation of their hardtop. Both operations are a bit more involved than doing the same thing on a Wrangler.
I could show them a much simpler way to attach a barn door to a side-swing tailgate
