Cool Jeeps You Can't Have - Mahindra of India

jscherb

Expedition Leader
More images of the Mahindra Bolero Campervan...


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And a "what if"...

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jscherb

Expedition Leader
Another Mahindra Thar with a DIY rooftop tent.



A search in "DIY Rooftop tent" on YouTube returns a lot of videos, DIY building an RTT more common than you might think. Worth doing a search if you want an RTT but are on a budget. Here's one:


This one uses a ground tent in a creative way:


The sewing required to make a roof top tent can be very simple - I made this pop-top for my Jeep-tub trailer a few years ago, it's the same sewing would be required to make a roof top tent - the canvas for this pop-top could be used for an RTT very easily without modification.

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It also works on the base trailer without the camper sides.

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Pretty much any sewing machine will be capable of making a roof top tent and suitable fabric is available from a number of online suppliers. I've used Seattle Fabrics in the past and there are others that specialize in outdoor and tent fabrics.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
The automotive aftermarket isn't as developed in India as it is here. Most aftermarket products/services are delivered by small shops that do custom work and there are only a few more general product companies. One product company in India that offers interesting accessories for Mahindras and other Indian 4x4's is Armoro (https://armoro.com/).

They offer two bags similar to things like the Trasharoo.

ArmoroSpareBag1.jpg


They come in two sizes - the smaller of the two can also be worn as a backpack:

ArmoroSpareBag2.jpg


The price on the site starts at 5000 rupees, which is about $67 USD.

They also offer this different style spare tire bag:

ArmoroSpareWheelBag1.jpg


I've seen that design before, I posted about it in my "Land Rover Ideas for Jeeps" thread. This is a bag from Exmoor in the UK:

ExmoorSpareWheelBag.jpg


I've studied both photos looking for the differences and can only find that the company name tag sewn at about the 10pm position is different. And the price, the Exmoor bag is GBP 131, which is about $177 vs. 5000 rupees ($67) for the Armoro bag. Not sure if Armoro makes the Exmoor bag or if they've just done an exact copy. The Exmoor web site doesn't claim that their bag is manufactured in the UK, so it may be that Armoro makes the Exmoor bag. Or Armoro did a knockoff of the Exmoor bag. Neither would surprise me.

But anyway there are some interesting products on the Armoro website, worth taking a look. I always look for new ideas for Jeeps on both the Indian Mahindra sites and Land Rover Defender sites.

Maybe I should start designing Mahindra accessories, with all the Mahindra Thars that are being sold over there I'll bet there's a market opportunity :).
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
This is probably the most efficient and best-designed camping/overlanding storage solution I've seen for a small Jeep but the ideas in this video can be applied to any Jeep.

The vehicle in the video is a classic Thar, which is basically the same size as a TJ/YJ, so most of what's in this video could be done in a TJ. One thing that's different from a TJ is that this Thar has a single rear seat rather than a bench set, so they were able to keep one back seat and extend the storage compartment forward on the side that doesn't have a seat.

The drawer unit is creative, with a drawer top that slides sideways to provide access to the contents of the drawer at the same time keeping the tabletop usable, a compartment top that removes and is a table, and multiple levels of compartments (storage below where the stove stores, for example). It's got running water, both for kitchen purposes and for a shower and there's 45 liters of water storage in the storage unit.

The audio is Hindi with a sprinkling of English words throughout, but just by just watching the pictures you'll get most of the ideas in the video. If there's some part of the video you'd like a translation of, let me know what components you're interested in and at what point in the video they appear and I can provide a translation of the Hindi.


The rooftop tent, awning, shower tent, tailgate table and fire pit are products of AdventureHut, an Indian company: https://carrooftoptentinindia.com/index.php/store/. The rest seems to be custom.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Here's something India has that I don't think we have from Hollywood - an off-road race movie:

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The movie web site: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-...irst-off-roading-themed-mainstream-movie.html

Presenting the Official Teaser of MUDDY, INDIA’S FIRST MUD RACE MOVIE.

Muddy is India’s First Off-Road Mud Race movie directed by Dr. Pragabhal under the banner of PK7 Creations, starring Yuvan Krishna and Ridhaan Krishna in the lead roles. Muddy is a Pan India Movie going to be released in multi-languages.

Muddy movie is a combination of revenge, action, thriller, adventure, family, drama & humor.
Mud racing & stunts were filmed realistically by the artists without any dupe. We have captured adventurous and interesting locations which aren’t framed in any movies till date. Also, a real mud race event with modified vehicles was conducted for few days.

You can watch it on Prime if you want (https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.b797929b-0d49-486e-9868-000fb224cd2a), but it's in Kannada (the language of Karnataka in southern India) but it does have English subtitles so you can read along. BTW there are something like 22 major languages used in India plus many lesser dialects.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Renegade Thar

At first glance you'd think this was a CJ, but it's just CJ decals on a Thar. Take a close look at the grille, the doors and the soft top - all stock Thar.

RenegadeThar.jpg
 

pith helmet

Well-known member
Renegade Thar

At first glance you'd think this was a CJ, but it's just CJ decals on a Thar. Take a close look at the grille, the doors and the soft top - all stock Thar.

RenegadeThar.jpg
Very nice. I like the stripes on the doors of the Thad that evoke the line of the old open military Jeeps.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Very nice. I like the stripes on the doors of the Thad that evoke the line of the old open military Jeeps.
Mahindra has several variants of that type door; here's a pair on a Savari with a single horizontal embossed rib:

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A few years ago I was toying with the idea of making molds for fiberglass half doors for the JK and possibly JL, this is one of the concept images I drew:

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I didn't end up doing those, but I did do molds for hard uppers with slider windows for factory half doors...

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Testing on my friend Donny's JKU Ursa Minor:

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jscherb

Expedition Leader
I posted earlier about the "Wanderlust" version of the Thar that the Mahindra Custom Shop will build for you: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...mahindra-of-india.222439/page-22#post-2938297

From the web site IndianAutosBlog:

The Mahindra Thar Wanderlust made its debut at the Auto Expo 2018 and went on sale as a customisation kit for existing and new Thar owners in April at a price of INR 13.8 lakh. The front-end of the Mahindra Thar Wanderlust features LED projector headlamps with LED DRLs, a new version of Mahindra's signature 7-slat grille, LED turn indicators, and an off-road spec metal bumper with an electric winch mounted atop it. The hood is new and gets custom graphics. The biggest highlights of the side profile are the gullwing rear doors. Other highlights include high-mounted rear view mirrors and silver-finished roof rails. The rear-end is characterised by LED tail-lamps, two canisters, and a roof-mounted spoiler. While the original suspension setup has been retained, customers can opt for a lift kit.

On the inside, the Mahindra Thar Wanderlust gets a dual-tone setup with full leather upholstery. Other highlights include sports pedals, an Android-based touchscreen infotainment unit from Pioneer, ambient lighting, and a head-up display. The side-facing rear seats have been replaced with a front-facing bench seat. The gullwing doors make ingress and egress relatively more comfortable than before.

Some photos of one that a special customer had built:

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It turns out that the Royal Family of Udaipur owns the one pictured above: https://www.news18.com/news/auto/th...al-family-of-udaipur-watch-video-2003545.html

In addition to the Wanderlust, the Royal Family has quite a car collection: https://hrhhotels.com/car_classic.php#welcome-section. I've been to the Royal Family's car museum in Udaipur (and BTW I stayed in their palace, part of which has been converted to a hotel. It was also the same hotel where James Bond [Roger Moore] stayed in the movie Octopussy - I recognized the hotel scenes while watching the movie after returning from Udaipur).

I took photos of many of the vehicles in the Royal Family's collection, but I'll just share these two Jeeps from the collection here:

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I believe they're both WWII-era Willys MB/Ford GPW's but I didn't inspect every part to determine their provenance. The second trailer has M416-style fenders so perhaps that trailer is an Indian version since I don't think U.S. M416's ever served in India.

Interesting bit of kit on this one:

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The vehicles in the collection are sometimes used in parades in Udaipur and also in movies; a Rolls Royce from the collection appears in Octopussy.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
The soft top for earlier Thar models didn't fold - it was fixed on a rigid frame. The new Thar has a folding soft top that looks like a close copy of the Wrangler soft top. There's a video on this page by Indian model/race car driver Manisha Kelkar demonstrating how the top works: https://www.cartoq.com/mahindra-thar-convertible-top-lady-video/


I noticed something else in the video... Jeep has put a number of "Easter Eggs" in Wranglers starting with the JK, and Mahindra is now doing the same. In the video I noticed this one on the lower edge of the windshield of the Thar:

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That Easter Egg seems to be a tribute to the graphics on the Mahindra Safari:

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The choice of camels is appropriate; the Thar is named for the Thar Desert, a 77,000 square mile desert in western India that borders Pakistan.

Since I'm a big fan of the Mahindra Savari...

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