Do you know about Mountain Goats? There is a species of Goat that lives high in the hills and you know what are they known for? They are especially known for their Mountain climbing abilities, they somehow manage to climb even the steepest of mountains.
So, why I am giving you mountain goat references, well the car today we are going to talk about is the Mountain Goat of its time, it is the car that made off-roading cool and gave birth to several off-road enthusiasts including me.
The Car is the Maruti Gypsy, I am pretty sure, a lot of you would have heard about, seen it, sat in one, or maybe even driven and you know how cool the Gypsy is.
First the backstory: -
The Gypsy was introduced in India in 1985, based on the Suzuki Jimny, the Suzuki Jimny was a popular SUV at that time, and various countries for ordering their own version of the Jimny, India got the Gypsy, and Maruti started manufacturing it.
The Gypsy when it initially came out was a soft top, a Hardcore off-roader with a Suzuki engine in it, which at that time, produced about 61 Horsepower and 75 Nm of torque.
For about 8 years the Gypsy ran in its introductory version and attracted a huge number of customers, in this period of time, Maruti also Introduced the Hard-Top Version as they found out that the Hardtops were increasingly becoming popular.
The Gypsy got several updates in the year ahead, one of the most crucial updates was the safety update in 1993. That was the time when Maruti actually took safety seriously, now it’s become a joke, check out the video I made on the safety issues with Maruti cars, it will be the I button to the upper right of your screen.
In 1996, the Gypsy got a new heart, which took the power from 60 Bhp to 80 Bhp along with a good amount of increment in torque, this not only made the Gypsy perform like a king in the dirt but also made it a good daily driver.
The Hardcore looks and the off-road capabilities of the Gypsy made it popular among the defense agency too and thus the Gypsy was used in high numbers by the Army, it also became a car to carry high-ranking officials.
Now the main question is “Why was it so popular in the off-road community??”
So, the capability of an off-road vehicle is basically judged by some numbers, the ground clearance, the approach angle, the departure angle, and the Breakover angle.
The Gypsy has a generous ground clearance of 210 mm, coupled with the 37-degree approach angle, 28-degree break over, and 49-degree departure angle, the Gypsy is still better than most of the off-roaders out there in the market.
For Context, the Jeep wrangler which is called the “best” off-road SUV in the market has a 35-degree approach angle, 18-degree break-over angle, and 28-degree departure angle.
So, this homemade Gypsy of ours is better than the Jeep wrangler in off-roading.
The Gypsy’s production was stopped a few years ago, it had a 30-year long run, which is enough to prove how much the Indians loved this car, I grew up watching it and I remember having those journeys in the Gypsy as a child.
Do you have some memories of your own with the Gypsy?? If yes then comment them down below and let the world hear it.
Also, you know what, I am currently working towards buying a 2nd hand Gypsy for myself, why?? Because I would love to do some off-roading in a proper old-school off-roader.
That’s it for this time, thank you for giving this a watch, I trust you liked it, if you did then do share it with your friends, and do consider subscribing to Motordrift for more such videos in the future.
Till then
Ciao
