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Hi Anand,

Very soon you will get the very first consumers, full and comprehensive report from Vijay (4X4 Army) on this HT with pics.

It has been from Hyderabad-Khapoli-Bangalore in the most weather testing conditions.

Keep watching this thread.
Regards,

Great newsclap:,
Main problem which is keeping me away from Thar is the OE soft top. How much is the cost? Its my dream to go in HT thar to Leh.

"3 months" after the first prototype the much awaited Hyderabad Hardtop is finally ready for the market....
PS: Please scroll down to the end to see the images just incase you decide to skip the text. I would have done the same 
We have put onto a stock Thar to give people a perspective of who it would look without any frills or fancies. The images have been taken at Mcube (Day 2) .

I thought it would be fair and interesting for the eager enthusiast / consumer to hear my side of the story

I first saw this hardtop on this same link and instantly knew that this is what I need for my hobby (nature photography).The option of having a vehicle that can go as fast as your avg. SUV, go almost anywhere and allow for up to 4 people to standup from within while on the move and whilst your standing have enough room to place a bean bag or use Manfrotto super clamp to support your camera and telephoto lens again for 4 people for me was a boon.

I used to remain glued to this thread and have made multiple calls to Fazal Sir enquiring about the availability, pricing etc. etc. If you scan through the posts you will see mine as well and the number of PM’s sent out coupled with the phone calls guess put me on the “DO NO PICKUP” list on Fazal Sir’s mobile. But soon enough my prayers were answered and the words “The Hyderabad hardtop is coming to Bangalore” was music to my ears.

Unfortunately due to certain exigencies I could not make it to the OTR and have a firsthand look at the hardtop and on hindsight this paid off in better ways than I expected. You will know why as we move along.

Frustrated with the fact that I could not see what I was so eagerly waiting for, I took some time off work and personally drove down to Hyderabad 2 weeks post the OTR. Here I met up with Fazal saab and Prabhu and at last and fulfilled my ever awaiting desire of uniting me with the hardtop which was mounted on the mustard orange Thar. In addition to this they were really sweet enough to accommodate my 1001 rapid fire questions

Now things get better….After a lot of creative begging and coaxing Prabhu let me have the prototype with a fair share of conditions. I was to put it through all its extremities and give him feedback on a daily basis. I was not allowed to post any images, put up any posts on facebook and teambhp and at the same time be available/ready to come to Hyderabad with my vehicle on short notice. Sounds like a great deal but after trip one sets you back by 12 K on fuel and accommodation you start to think about what you have got into. I decided to bite the bullet and knew somewhere it’s all going to be worth it.

Hence began my first drive back from Hyderabad with the original prototype that most of you’ll have seen on this thread.
The first sets of tests for me were around Initial pickup, Speed, Sound, Suspension, Handling and stability on bends.

Initial- pick up – There is absolutely no change in the initial pickup and I have tested the vehicle on inclines, the street I live on, forest tracks, start and stop in Ghats and the Bangalore traffic. The number of times I had to change gears within the city has remained the same

Speed – The hardtop has only contributes to the overall feel. Personally I felt the speed remains the same with or without the top and I have done 140 on many an occasion. The biggest and most delighting difference is without the hardtop or with the soft top you know it’s a 140 because of the noise and flapping of the canvas as well as the light feel on the steering. With the hardtop the vehicle feels very planted. At 140 you can have a conversation with your fellow passengers. The only noise you hear is some wind hitting the rear view mirror and the mirror vibrating which can be avoided by removing or folding the mirror.

Sound – This is where your moneys worth is realized!! Man it make s one huge and I mean one huge difference. Be it on the highway at high / low speeds, be it in peak city traffic, be it with your engine switched off and your taking a snooze in the jungle its as quiet as a Scorpio inside. When you pull up next to a bus, lorry, tractor you can hear a very faint noise of the engine. On high speed runs you can hear the wind hit the rear view mirror over 120 km/hr and below that it’s the same acoustics of a Scorpio. In the jungle when you have waited 4 hrs from 6am and spotted nothing, just put the glasses up, turn the aircon on and unwind to some light music. Your children can sleep without having to wake up to blazing horns in city traffic

Suspension – Now nobody has been able to give me an answer for this. The rear suspension feels a lot more planted. Potholes, speed breakers and bad terrain don’t trouble the rear passengers. The top weighs around 35 kgs in totality but has a huge difference on the ride quality especially for the rear passengers. On the highway the vehicle feels sturdy and you have more confidence at high speeds. Bouncing on the highway is reduced by 70% and on rough roads by 60%.Iit would be wrong if I said its eliminated completely on the highway but I would be completely justified if I said you can sleep peacefully without being thrown around or having to keep correcting your posture at speeds over 110 km/hr

Handling and stability on bends – This has changed completely for me. The vehicle has far more road grip and I am still running on stock HT tires. On sharp bends though it feels a little heavy on the brakes and this is the only downside I came across. Typically I would down shift to a third gear even on hairpin bends but with the hardtop I slow down a bit more and downshift to the second gear. Its not that the vehicle can’t handle the third, I felt the vehicle feels more planted in the second on hairpin bends with the hardtop and I play with the gears on the hairpin bends thereby releasing the stress on the brakes.


Now to come to the bits which resulted in the 3 month delay…. Well its anyone’s guess “IT LEAKS”
The openable panels which was the pride and joy of this hardtop was also its biggest nemesis.

There were two major flaws with the setup
1.The locking mechanism used were meagerly holding the panels in place but not pulling it down to flush tight against the super structure

2.The panels were not deep enough to accommodate a rubber beading with the capacity to stop torrential rain and the service station pressure wash

3.The super structure was not deep enough as well to accommodate a heavy duty beading for the same reasons

4.The clamps needed to be adjusted to the same length otherwise the panels were being pulled towards the shorter clamp since they were adjustable

5.The last problem was with the heat insulation within the panels and the super structure.The material was not spread uniformly and this resulted in certain sections of the top getting warm vs. certain sections were normal. This was especially evident in the openable panels and the super structure on the front and rear top portions facing the sky.

Just to give you some context on the benefits of a two shell top over a single shell top
The Hyderabad hardtop unlike all other hardtops in India is a double layered structure which means it has an outer shell and an inner shell. In between the two is a hollow space about ¾ of an inch in width and this is where a material called PUF(Poly Urethane Foam) is injected to absorb the external heat and add further sound dampening. So in terms of what this translates to for the consumer

1.Two shells for the hardtop inner and outer fused together so what you see from the outside is not the same from what you see from the inside

2.Twice the strength and structural integrity with better harnessing to the body of the vehicle

3.Excellent sound dampening and heat proofing due to insulation material between the two shells

4.5 individual doubled sided panels and super structure which means incase of a damage just the damaged panel can be rectified/replaced and there is no gaping hole after the damge due to the inner shell. This ensures passenger safety from an impact front and vehicle safety from a theft front. So to put it to perspective if a sharp projectile is thrown at the hardtop it first needs to penetrate the outer shell, through the PUF and then through the inner shell. Well you get the picture.

Now back to my journey… After these flaws were identified I took the top back to Hyderabad for a newer version with all flaws rectified. Prabhu had tested the top for all the issues I had reported and she was good to go. The moment of truth hit us and this is when we realized that “wood” as a base is not the best material to be used as a dye. Though the top appeared to be perfect, upon mounting she just did not fit snug. The two sections were off at the corners and wouldn’t clamp down onto the vehicle. Well we all thought that this was the end until one of Prabhu’s chief designer decided to make a dye out of metal. So began a new venture of the hardtop with the dye being metal thereby ensuring that each and every mould would be of the same dimensions and standard. This took a whole one and a half months to achieve incorporating all the learning’s we had so far.

As part of the metal dye we also decided to make some design changes
1.The shape of the side glasses changed and the images depict them
2.We decided to go for a bigger glass for the rear for better visibility
3.The design of the super structure on the front and rear upper sections were changed to accommodate a heavy duty rubber beeding
4.The inner structure of the openable panels were changed to accommodate a different locking mechanism and as well accommodate the heavy duty rubber beeding

The day had finally arrived 02nd of July 12 “ The New Hyderabad Hardtop” was finally ready and was being fitted on my Thar. I reached Hyderabad on the 04th of July to see my baby with a new look.
Like the saying goes the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so as planned we had to put the finished product through a barrage of tests. So here it is –
1.Pressure wash test – PASSED ( Absolutely no leaks and we were merciless on this one)

2.Speed test – PASSED

3.Sound test - PASSED

4.PUF test – Passed ( This time the PUF was machine injected at high pressure which resulted in uniform spread of PUF and the quality was outstanding) - PASSED

5.Vibration, stress test – Hammering the THAR at high speed on rough roads with tears in my eyes and heart in my mouth – PASSED

6.Hyderabad rain test – PASSED (We took the vehicle for a 200 kms spin in heavy rain and “0” leaks which was expected considering she passed the pressure wash)

Now it was time for the real thing…. Prabhu decided that we should test the top for the purpose she would be used 90% of the time. So we decided to take her to the MCUBE event near Mumbai.

Day 1
So on the 12th of July at 06:30 am we set out for Mumbai from Hyderabad… The road conditions were horrible and the distance we had to travel was around 650 kms to reach the destination. The climate was pleasant when we left Hyderabad. The roads were so bad and crowded with traffic that we barely managed to do an avg. of 60 kms/hr. I just lost count of the number of potholes the vehicle had to endure but from a test perspective this is exactly what we wanted to check. We wanted to see if there were any stress cracks, squeaks, loosening of bolts and vibration. After travelling for 650 kms which tooks us 13 hours due to the road conditions the hardtop made up for all our hardships by remaining intact. Infact I had my aircon on and the passengers in my vehicle were the least fatigued. We had enough energy to stay up late and have a drink as well whist the rest of the convoy hit the sack. The key difference was

1.The noise in my vehicle was almost non-exsistent

2.The outside traffic on the crowded highway did not effect me

3.The aircon was far more effective

4.The ride quality for the passengers sitting behind was far far far (3 times) better than the other Thar

Day 2
The venue for the event was in a place called “Automission” and was based on different obstacles which ranged from some insane man made terrain (Track A ) to some water fording ( Track D) . I wasn’t allowed to compete due to the HT (Highway Tires) I had on my vehicle. So I parked the vehicle in the rain and it just kept raining in short intervals the whole day. Once again it was a test to see how the vehicle holds up from continuous rain which I forgot to mention begun the previous night. Apart from being the designated photographer (Fazal Sir, all the images of the Lynx at Automission were taken by yours truly) I had not much of a role to play. At the end of the day we drove to a new destination which would be our base for the current and following night.
Well the outcome for the top from relentless rain the previous night and almost the whole of day 2 – PASSED WITH FLYING COLOURS



Day 3
The venue was a few Kms from base (Karle) if I am not wrong and the concept was a trail actually 2 trails that ran in parallel – One was hard and the other was easy
As soon as I reached the spot I was in for a huge disappointment as the marshals asked me to park my vehicle aside due to the HT tires I had. Well you couldn’t argue with people who were passionate about what they did and so I decided to wait. The path leading to the first assembly point had already claimed a few causalities and it was a while (over an hour) till the last vehicle was out of sight.
The part I am about to narrate is what I am most proud of….
With HT tires, 3 people and a hardtop my Thar effortlessly reached assembly point 1.. This proves two things
1 – The weight of the top which is so light that it wasn’t an impediment for the vehicle to climb
2- My driving skills as the marshals told me to my face that my Thar will not make it with HT tires
3- Wait till the end the drive is much better with no one ahead and behind you
Post reaching assembly point 1 I got some nasty stares from some of the marshals which I countered with a sheepish smile.
I was able to reach the final point where lunch was slated to be served with HT tyres and effortless driving with a mild and moderate drizzle throughout and also did a bit of my own trail to feel good. I wasn’t allowed into any of the terrain that required some exotic rubber and very rightly so as most of the vehicles sporting AT tyres and mudzillas were slipping as well.
Post lunch and we had Tarzan drop to protect the flora and fauna by way of the “Maharashtra Forest Department” who put an end to the good fun and adrenaline people were experiencing. After a rather long halt we eventually came down and were instructed to head straight for the resort.
Verdict - The vehicle with the hardtop, HT tyres surpassed all expectations and maybe more.

Day 4
Well Day 4 for me began at midnight. I had to get back to Bangalore but was under “resort vigilance” by the forest department. I managed to leave after some higgle haggle with the security. I had 1000kms to reach home and just two of us to drive. My friend decided to do the first 6 hours while I slept in the back seat. It was pouring cats and dogs and the full benefit of the top was realized. I was dog tired and the last thing I needed was noise and a bumpy ride while I slept. Well both were delivered as expected. The ride quality was excellent and all I could hear was mild instrumental music playing. I slept like a baby.
When I woke up it was 7 am and I was lights out for six and a half hours. I woke up to find the vehicle effortlessly travelling at 120 km/hr with a mild drizzle hitting the windscreen. We decided to swap roles but needed to top up on calories for the Thar and us before we changed seats. I also thought it would be a good idea to give the Thar a 30 minute break and do a quick check on the status of the hardtop after some highs peed driving…
After filling her up and ourselves at a small Tiffin room at Satara we hit staright for Bangalore. The road continued to be a delight and we reached Bangalore (my house) by 2pm…

So is the Hardtop worth it ?? Well let me see and for that let me list some of the salient features

1.5 piece model – 5 individual pieces rather than 1 single piece. This means , in the event of any damage only the damaged piece can be repaired/replaced rather than the whole top.

2.Double sided panels – Each panel has 2 pieces (inner and outer) and in the eventuality of any calamity the outer panel will get damaged thereby ensuring the occupants are safe and there is no gaping hole in the hardtop. The vehicle will still remain lockable and safe until you reach your destination

3.PUF (Poly Urethane filler) – This ensures maximum sound dampening and heat resistance is provided thereby ensuring the occupants get a comfortable and silent cabin experience. It also ensures that the aircon performs at optimum level

4.Two piece design – The top can be used as a full fledged hardtop or a bikini top at the discretion of the user

5.Openable panels – In addition to protecting me from the elements and the humbug of city traffic , highway trucks the hardtop allows me to enjoy and capture the tranquility and beauty of nature without having to step out

6.Sound – I can listen to music or have a conversation with friends and family as well as speak on my Bluetooth car phone effortlessly

7.Ride quality – The suspension feels a lot more planted and can accommodate for a pleasant ride quality be it for children or adults and has provided for 6 hours of sleep

8.Security – I have a GPS, reverse and forward camera , music system , HAM radio , Bluetooth car kit, Ipod permanently installed in my Thar. Well the hardtop keeps it safe

9.Night travel – I travel late from work and most of the time prefer night driving… I feel a lot safer with a hardtop on a open highway at night or driving home at 1am in the morning from work

10.Last but not the least – It looks pretty darn good

Well all I can say is and this will be a pleasant surprise for most married jeepers – My wife thinks it’s worth it .

Prabhu and Fazal Sir… thankyou for this…….

For people who are interested you can call Prabhu on +919866994455

Regards,
Vijay

I watched the hard-top develop from its inception and drove Prototype I to BLR and slept in it on the way back! I also watched Vijay's journey with much interest and a little amusement. At times the hard-top project got my goat as Prabhu spent on it time, effort and resources that I thought should be rightfully spent on my FFEs. :Frustrati

My experience with the hard-top is similar to Vijay's.

I too noticed the same things that Vijay did. Prototype I initially had some wind noise which was eliminated by re-designing the leading edge above the A pillar. So it is quiet, quiet enough to have a telephone conversation without shouting.

I thought the Thar was faster with the hard-top because it was more streamlined and because it improved handling. I could be wrong.

I too noticed the planted nature with the hardtop on. I attributed this to greater downforce because the hard-top presented a hard surface for the air to press down on.

I felt also that the vehicle stopped swaying / tugging at the steering in cross winds with the hard-top on.

I am glad all the redesigning and ironing out of kinks paid off.

Me - I am looking for a jeep and when I get one, I will probably go in for the bikini top and have a rear bulkhead behind the seats

Excellent write-up, Vijay!

Dear Fazal/Prabhu..The fit and finish look stupendous:thumbs up, especially the interiors, compared to the earlier avatar!

Just a quick question, since the hard top is in 5 pieces, is it possible to remove or fit the rear portion in a reasonable quantum of time (a.k.a. a removable hard-top)stupid:, or does the hard top stay fixed?

Thanks in advance!

Bopanna

Dear Vijay,

That was an excellent write up,, how can one find this many words, patience and using them this precisely in an awesome weather with a HT 4X4 parked in the garage???

I would rather be cruising on the lonesome village roads and enjoying nature.

Let me add to your report, that is is the only HT that does not cover the B pillar, we were debating on whether to or not and finally concluded that it should be visible for two reasons,

1. Did not want to raise the top height by additional 1.5-2 inches, directly translating in an increase of Center of Gravity resulting in increased Drag and Body Roll (which would happen if we would take the B pillar inside the HT, as the sides and the top of the B pillar would need to be enveloped).

2. The two individually removable (front and rear) sections are possible in this design giving us a flexibility of fitting just the front (over the driver and co passenger) and rear, or one or both. Notice the orange Thar from Hyderabad that is in Vijay's pics, it went from Hyderabad with just the front top panel and came back that way as compared to Vijay's full top. Additionally this also gives the consumer the option of buying either the front or the rear top only or.., if desired, later add the missing top panel. In case of any damage the whole top does not need to be replaced, thus keeping the replacement price affordable.


3. Purely aesthetic..As Thar is not a streamlined but bulky designed Jeep, we didn't want to make it look more boxy by making one solid top, from front to back. The color dividing B pillar breaks the visual monotony of one solid black HT.

Lastly, would like to add that the rear panel has two flushed vent holes (drain pipes) on each side. Notice above the side glass, this is to drain if any water has seeped in through the rubber beading and keep the level down,,,,purely its a second line of defense that may never be required.

Regards,

What a great write-up Vijay and what a way to start the weekend. You get up in the morning and find detailed coverage on the most eagerly awaited HT in the country. A dream come true.
Truly impressed with the positives in the report and the looks overall. Now I would like to have one.

Dear Fazal, Prabhu - how can I get one and how much does it cost. Just for this Im willing to drive upto Hyd from BLR.

Thanks.

Myk.b,

Please contact Prabhu on 0 98669 94455, for details on order and pricing.
Regards,

I normally would have done the same, but GOD knows what hooked me to your write-up, I checked the images only after going through every single word of your write up and I must tell you that even before seeing the images I so wanted to own a Thar just to have the Hyderabad Hardtop.

100 out of 10 to you for the tremendous piece of writing, this is precisely the kind of marketing a anyway superb product can ask for.

PS: What seats are you using in the rear, can you please post a picture of the same from inside the vehicle or please guide me if they are already documented somewhere on the forum.

Hi HHT Team,

Congrats on the Hyderabad Hard Top (HHT - For Short). Please patent your product else somebody will copy and have their claim to fame . . . I have been hooked to this thread from day one and it's wonderful to know the result is worth it. Considering the Pros of the Hard Top, it makes us to wonder what was M & M thinking when it released only the Soft Top for Indian markets. I am sure that they could have afforded to spend a few lakhs more on this project than give a half-baked product.

A HT from day one would have made the Thar a bigger success and also would have done wonders for M & M in the niche category.

Now, that we have a top notch Hard Top availble, I do hope that M & M "RISE" to the occassion and offer the Thar with better brakes at the earliest.

These alone will make the fence sitters like me to buy the Thar.

-Harshavardhan

Excellent review Vijay! By the way, when your getting your dash rattle sorted, make sure you apply damping sheets on the firewall as suggested. Then you wouldnt be comparing the ride to a Scorpio ....... it'll be as silent as a Lexus :)

here is the thread i was mentioning.

cheerio
Arun.

Oh! one more thing, Respect to making it to the top of the trail on HT tyres, that too without riding your clutch. Noticed the way you was always in the right gear. :thumbs up

This is a beautiful hard top. How does it stand up to the extreme heat of about 50 deg C in summer? Has any testing been carried out to determine effects of exposure to sun. Does the color fade after prolonged sun exposure? What would be the expected life of the hard top? And is it possible to revert to the original soft top after installing the hard top?

Congrats on a job well done. As others have said, this is the best looking of the available hard tops.

Regards

Saji

What a write up Vijay. Awesome buddy. I know the story of your hardtop as good as you. You perseverance is commendable. And it has paid off. Talk to you soon.

Am waiting to see the jeep in person.

Hi,

The prototype was built last year and was used in Hyderabad summer. It stood up very well to the heat. The insulation worked even in the prototype, I guess the newer version with the machine filled PUF will do better. The top is primed using a special primer and is painted using automotive paints so it should do as good as any car.

No body modifications are required to fit the hard-top so going back to the OE soft top is possible.

Cheers,

The HT has turned out great after the redesign !!
Kudos to the Prabhu & Fazal sir for the much awaited HT .

Great report Vijay !! Hope this has put an end to your door rattling .

@ Fazal sir ! I assume that the top and the integrated roll bar has reinforced the "Targa band" and would have stopped the doors from rattling.