[vintagepoint5]

Hyderabad Jeep Thrills Team:

My hearty congratulations to Mr. Shams, DKG and all the team members each and everyone. Very well organized event, smoothly carried over, even the details described by DKG with his well narrative write up and nice pictures, even the people who were unable to visit, can get excellent opportunity to view the details and experience it. Even care was taken to have all safety measures in place, like fully equipped Ambulance. It is really very impressive event.

Thanks for sharing with us and I wish the team all the success in all their future endeavours.

Good luck & Cheers!

[vinod_nookala]

Thats a mega event true NAWAB style!!! :-) Congrats

[indianrunner]

Looks like an excellent event and a great writeup and photographs. Is this being planned to be held regularly?

[DKG]

Originally Posted by indianrunner

Is this being planned to be held regularly?

I should think so, annually. For the rest of the year Shams and I are trying to kick start some trail blazing just for fun.

[-GT-]

DKG: Can you please enlighten me - (posted by me previously):

Originally Posted by -GT-

WOW! What a beautifully organized event !

DKG: Lovely pictures and a very nice coverage of the event. Nice to see a good variety of machines participating. Porsche Cayenne is definitely a surprise !

Is that green Jeep (No. 3) modded by Bharat Motors?

BTW, how did the LC 200 perform? You didn't mention much about its performance - are we to assume that it was struggling?

[krazydriver84]

@ DKG


How did the Scorpio getaway perform? Any pics of her?

[iraghava]

Deepak - That was fantastic! I'm sure all the participants & the audience must have had a nice time!

[DKG]

Originally Posted by -GT-

DKG: Can you please enlighten me - (posted by me previously):

After we noticed the Cayenne risked damaging its exhaust pipes my friend got cold feet as the TLC is spanking new. You know from what they told me the full exhaust system of the Cayenne can set you back close to 3 lacs!!!

Considering the TLC wheelbase may be longer than the Range Rover my guess is it would have bottomed out on the crests. Even the Gypsy rear overhang proved a problem. One of the organisers did acknowledge that much of the track was designed to showcase the brilliance of a short chassis, short overhang setup. But I think they will eventually agree that a broadbased design which doesn't end up damaging the wider range of offroaders participating would endear the event to many more. The idea is to encourage the sport and not scare people away. It was such a beautiful sight to see that RR handle the track so elegantly. And mind you that's a massive beast compared to the little Jeeps. Everyone loved it. No one was happy to see the Cayenne pull out. They all wanted it to go through. People relate to all these cars and don't want them damaged. The spirit of the crowd was simply heartwarming.

That said you have to watch the 4x4 system at work in these modern machines to appreciate the sheer brilliance of tech offered. It freaked me completely when I saw an airborne right front wheel of the Cayenne actually spinning in air, then locking in micro seconds and carried still for a full three feet or so in the air before releasing as it touched ground.

Look at it this way. In 50 year old Jeeps the tech then allowed substantial axle articulation, good low end torque, light weight. When axle articulation meant a compromise at high highway speeds and stiffer suspensions were called for then traction control devices had to step in. Diff locks and LSD. Now modern SUV's are using sophisticated electronics and sensors coupled to their ABS and Traction Control systems to ensure power to wheels with traction. So when it comes to a capable offroader technology is always a part of the equation

When the wheels are spinning away to glory there's only so much the best offroad driver can do. You need LSD's and difflocks and now TC based devices to ensure traction.

On that score the modern offroaders like the RR or the TLC or even the Cayenne for that matter have some mindblowing stuff. Deeply impressive. At the flick of a switch you are raising car heights for offroad and then settle back to low settings for high speed highway cruising.

Its a totally different ball game and I cannot but respect what has been achieved by these highly accomplished offroaders.

The low bonnet Jeeps have a mystique about them which no other machine conveys. They are too beautiful in their form and function. Their simplicity of design and focused purity endears them to any enthusiast. Having said that just look at the new generation TLC or Range Rover. Awe inspiring is the word when it comes to the depth of their ability.

Elsewhere I just mentioned this whole exercise of comparing old with new, one brand with another is a totally futile exericise, atleast in my humble opinion. I like them all, old and new, from Jeeps to TLC's and RR's

The world of offroaders is only richer thanks to all of these machines. Hope you guys get to enjoy them as much as I do.

Originally Posted by krazydriver84

@ DKG


How did the Scorpio getaway perform? Any pics of her?

The Getaway was driven by the 18 year old son of a friend and as he lined up for the track I warned him the rear overhang would make it impossible to negotiate the hill/ditch combo obstacle. He obviously wanted to try and it got stuck and had to be towed out. If you chop that ridiculous overhang out and shorten the rear end then yes the Getaway is an option worthy of considering for severely undulating terrain. But for most trails I guess it should do reasonably well.

[vinod_nookala]

DKG,

Jeeps are articulation king, Nissan with live axle coil over is good as well, how did gurkha fare in articuation section? Was it necessary to put diff locks to proceed? Did it lift one wheel in air? How were pajeros ? Also no pics seen of defender?

regards,
vinod

[DKG]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Jeeps are articulation king, Nissan with live axle coil over is good as well

There was an element of ease with the Nissan going through. Very fluid unlike any other offroader. As you rightly said the Jeeps were at home flexing their muscles to retain grip.

how did gurkha fare in articuation section? Was it necessary to put diff locks to proceed? Did it lift one wheel in air?

This was the Judo which I think is a 2750 mm wheelbase as compared to the Gurkha at 2400 mm. It went through all the obstacles with aplomb. No fuss, just chugged through it all. It did lift a wheel or two occasionally and yes I remember the owner calling out to his wife to release the locks post the obstacle.

How were pajeros ?

The SFX handled the track very well despite its wheelbase. There is no doubt this is a worthy offroading SUV at the 20 odd lac range compared to the usual lot of CRV's, Endeavour and can be really put through the paces.

The mechanicals seem robust and its a tough offroader. In 2 dr guise it should be a delight in any terrain.

Also no pics seen of defender?

Will check and post if I have some shots. The Defender as expected handled the track well, no issues.

[-GT-]

DKG: Excellent explanation of how different vehicles performed. Thank you. My interest in the LC is obviously selfish. The new LC's approach and departure angles are reasonably good even with the stock bumpers; but yes it could have very well been a problem at the very short downhill landing. That said, I am sure the LC would have sailed gracefully over the articulation track had your friend tried that one. The new LC can lift one of its wheels more than 600mm (2 feet) on a serious hump without the opposite wheel getting off the ground.

[Parm]

DKG sir what kind of support was provided by the local authorities in terms of permission to use the land or any other kind of support.

any private sponsors?

[DKG]

Originally Posted by -GT-

My interest in the LC is obviously selfish

Count me in too Am a huge fan of these beasts. I will do a test drive report of this car someday. When I started off with a lot of questions my friend suggested he'd have to study the manual to find out all about it. He did mention that Toyota have taken this car to another plane in terms of refinement and performance. I had seen some videos of the car performing on tracks similar to our event's track and it seemed to do it with ease.

Originally Posted by Parm

DKG sir what kind of support was provided by the local authorities in terms of permission to use the land or any other kind of support.

any private sponsors?

The local MLA was in favour of the event and they obviously had no issues. The event was on land belonging to a fellow offroader. But for the next year the MLA offered to prepare a track at his expense, and I reckon on a much grander scale!

Apart from the three corporate sponsors a great deal of resources were made available by the gentlemen I mentioned. Their cars with diesel, staff etc.

[-GT-]

Originally Posted by DKG

Count me in too Am a huge fan of these beasts. I will do a test drive report of this car someday.

I will try to beat you on the test report. Have driven mine close to 10,000 km as of today, but unfortunately not as yet on difficult terrains. Will have to wait for a month or two (summer problem) before I get to off-roading on this beautiful machine.

Of course, I know you were once a proud owner of a LC when you were in DXB; and with your experience in off-roading, you will be the right person to detail the finer points.

[aadix]

hey DKG, amazing event!! could see a couple of my friends in the pics you posted, but dont mind me asking, why wasnt there any proper publicity for such a event? its tue today and i havent seen any pics of the magnificent event in the papers yet.