Force Motors has revealed that the new Gurkha will be revealed on 15th September, followed by its expected launch in the coming weeks. It is actually a potential Mahindra Thar rival, which debuted in the near-production avatar at last year’s Auto Expo.
The new Force Gurkha has been undergone subtle design and mechanical changes. While it retains its iconic Mercedes G-Wagon-inspired boxy and upright silhouette, Force claims that it will feature a complete new body-works that will meet the latest crash test & safety norms.
On the outside, it gets a revised appearance with a single-slat grille, round LED headlamps with integrated LED DRLs, reworked bumpers with new fog lamp assembly, a large fixed side glass for the rear occupants, and LED tail lamps. Besides, it will also come in a dual-tone paint scheme for the very first time.
Inside, the all-black dashboard with hard plastic panels and an aftermarket touchscreen infotainment system make it looks quite basic. However, it gets more creature comforts than the previous model. For instance, it features front power windows, a multi-information display, manual air conditioning, a rear wiper, captain seats in the middle-row with individual armrests, and side-facing jump seats in the third row. Passenger safety should be taken care of by dual airbags, ABS with EBD, parking sensors, and a rearview camera.
Force Motors has already confirmed that it will provide Gurkha with a 2.6-liter diesel engine (90PS/260Nm), paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. While the engine output seems quite less against the Thar’s 130PS 2.2-litre diesel engine, the Gurkha will feature a 4X4 drivetrain with a low-range transfer case and manual locking front & rear differentials (missing in Thar) as standard fitments that will unquestionably make it better off-roader than the Mahindra Thar.
Expect Force to price the Gurkha from around Rs 9.5 lakh (ex-showroom). The purpose-built off-roader will go up against the second-gen Mahindra Thar and the upcoming Maruti Suzuki Jimny.
