[jalsa777]

International Cars & Motors Ltd. (Sonalika) were present with 3 new models based on the Rhino.


Windy

Its a pick-up based on the Rhino. It is geared towards the commercial segment






Oyster
Its basically a lifestyle version of the windy.

High mounted lights. Also notice the turn-indicators integrated into the ORVMs:











Extreme
It is a fully loaded variant of the Rhino

New bumper and bull bar. A hood scoop is also added:


Tacky looking rear:


2 DIN touchscreen music system. Notice the Carbon fiber packing strip around the edges:


Roof mounted LCD:


Captain seats and decent legroom:




The hood scoop is made of carbon fiber! It looks awesome, doesn't it? EDIT: See the discussion below, it is actually plastic




All these cars are powered by a 2.0L CRDI diesel producing 120 bhp power @ 4000 rpm and 280 Nm torque between 1750-2500 rpm. The engine is BS IV compliant.




There is no info of the pricing and availability of these models.

[Tapish]

I have a query here.

The rhino, as well as the Force one 4*4, have been showcased with bullbars.

Is the bullbar legal in India? It can cause immense damage if the car hits a pedestrian.

OT: Living in Gurgaon, I understand its (almost) a necessity if you want your bumpers to last. However, manufacturers endorsing such unsafe products is not a healthy sign.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by jalsa777

The hood scoop is made of carbon fiber! It looks awesome, doesn't it?

Looks like a plastic piece with a black and silver chequered print on it to me. These days most people say "carbon fiber" when they are referring to the look/pattern rather than the actual material! (btw - even the Xenon at the Tata stall had a CF stick-on finish on its hood).

The finish and weave on a real CF air-scoop would look more like this :





cya
R

Image source :
1) carbon fiber HOOD SCOOP for Impreza/WRX 7th generation - Detailed info for carbon fiber HOOD SCOOP for Impreza/WRX 7th generation,hood scoop,carbon fiber HOOD SCOOP for Impreza/WRX 7th generation,JC-IMP35 on Alibaba.com
2) Wholesale New Subaru Impreza/WRX 06 07 Carbon Fiber Hood Scoop

PS - Another reason i think so is PRICE. The "made in china" CF hoodscoop shown above = $178. The other one seems to be $350 +

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by Tapish

I have a query here.

The rhino, as well as the Force one 4*4, have been showcased with bullbars.

Is the bullbar legal in India? It can cause immense damage if the car hits a pedestrian.

OT: Living in Gurgaon, I understand its (almost) a necessity if you want your bumpers to last. However, manufacturers endorsing such unsafe products is not a healthy sign.

it is written nowhere that a Bulbar is illegal in india. It causes considerable harm to pedestrians.

The probablity that you would hit a pedestrian is negligible compared to the probably a 2wheeler would ram you from behind / the guy in front of you would roll back at a signal as he did not use hand brakes.

I am sounding harsh here, but if i hit a pedestrain with or without a bullbar, i am to face the same charges and harrasment. Heck at least i save my bumper if i hit a pedestrian with a bullbar.

[girishglg]

Some nice pics Jalsa777 there. Considering the fact that other threads discussed plonking the same 2l engine in the GM Tavera to get it BS4 compliant, wonder why are these Rhinos not selling on their own. Had just seen a bunch of new vehicles earlier say a year or two before but as for now do not see any new ones on the road at least in Blr. These look quite comparable to the Taveras at least and should be competent people carriers. Any light on it other wise is good to know.

[SirAlec]

Double cab pickup looks so out of proportions. This company is doing very well in Taxi market.

supplying engine to its direct competitor is very interesting.

[amrisharm]

I just have a question, this ICML Rhino is the previous generation Toyota qualis right (I am refering to the body shell)? If yes then did they just blatantly copy the design from toyota or did ICML actually buy the body press from them legally?

Another few questions:
1) Who designed the suspension?
2) The rover engine that they use, how did they get their hands on the right to use it?

Any info of this fairly unheard of brand would be of great help thanx.

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by amrisharm

I just have a question, this ICML Rhino is the previous generation Toyota qualis right (I am refering to the body shell)? If yes then did they just blatantly copy the design from toyota or did ICML actually buy the body press from them legally?

Another few questions:
1) Who designed the suspension?
2) The rover engine that they use, how did they get their hands on the right to use it?

Any info of this fairly unheard of brand would be of great help thanx.

I can tell you what I know -- was told these things by a gentleman from ICML at a conference about a year back, so can't guarantee accuracy.

It seems ICML cars are self-designed (read reverse engineered). They do have a collaboration with Rover.

Auto being a capital intensive business, they have consumed a lot of cash. They have some PE participation from Citigroup. It seems Citi was pushing them to increase revenues. Additionally, they wanted to build a network and were finding dealers difficult to attract. They decided to go for the Tavera deal to get some cash and ensure the plant is better utilized. Also there was some consideration of how this can be used to leverage network (aftermarket for engines, I am not too sure how that would help).

What I have heard about the shell is that they (or a sister concern) was a sheet metal vendor to Qualis. The typical way of operating 10 years back used to be that the OEM used to pay for the first die and subsequent dies were made by the vendor (still is, but with tighter contracts).

Now these owned dies were transferred, slightly modified and used in the Rhino. The "modification" makes this legally a little ambiguous, and Toyota having already withdrawn the Qualis decided not to bother.

[jalsa777]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Looks like a plastic piece with a black and silver chequered print on it to me. These days most people say "carbon fiber" when they are referring to the look/pattern rather than the actual material! (btw - even the Xenon at the Tata stall had a CF stick-on finish on its hood).

The finish and weave on a real CF air-scoop would look more like this :

Attachment 870168

Attachment 870169

cya
R

Image source :
1) carbon fiber HOOD SCOOP for Impreza/WRX 7th generation - Detailed info for carbon fiber HOOD SCOOP for Impreza/WRX 7th generation,hood scoop,carbon fiber HOOD SCOOP for Impreza/WRX 7th generation,JC-IMP35 on Alibaba.com
2) Wholesale New Subaru Impreza/WRX 06 07 Carbon Fiber Hood Scoop

PS - Another reason i think so is PRICE. The "made in china" CF hoodscoop shown above = $178. The other one seems to be $350 +

Point taken. The ICML official told me that it was real carbon-fibre. I had my doubts though. Now, after seeing these pictures i think its plastic with a carbon print.

PS: Although the 'made in China' hood scoop costs $178, it's really not that expensive to make carbon fiber parts. The cost is high because people actually are willing to buy it at a higher cost. Its the best example of opportunistic pricing.

Check this for CF cloth pricing: CARBON FIBER - GRAPHITE - KEVLAR
It will take 3/4th of a yard at the maximum to make a hood scoop.

[neil.jericho]

Ive never checked an ICML vehicle first hand and I was pleasantly surprised to see the picture of the interiors. Overall the exterior styling isnt anything to complain about. The carbon fibre hood scoop is an interesting touch. Thumbs up to the multiple options that they have offered.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by jalsa777

PS: Although the 'made in China' hood scoop costs $178, it's really not that expensive to make carbon fiber parts.
....
It will take 3/4th of a yard at the maximum to make a hood scoop.

Agreed. But then if you look at most products, it sells for what people are willing to pay for it - not for what the manufactuer thinks it costs + fixed margin.

Also, as a rough guess, the carbon fiber part is still at the very least 10 times more expensive than a similar plastic part (due to additional costs of a time-consuming lay-up, molding, epoxy, etc). Material costs aside, the plastic part can just be injection molded and sometimes even transfer printed in the mold itself. One shot. Cheap and fast.

cya
R

[benbsb29]

The Oyster version looks horrendous! Even cheap Chinese toys come with better design proportions.

[raj_5004]

What's happening?

1) That aftermarket round thing on the steering wheel looks very cheap.

2) The hood scoop looks puny & funny.

3) The bull/nudge bar is copied from the Fortuner, should have been black in colour.

4) Bull bar in rear also? Is this standard?

5) The CF packing besides the HU looks very cheap & out of place.

6) Again, the aftermarket Xenos LCd looks out of place.

Hope they have showcased the accessories available & these are not standard.

[r_devakumar]

Found this test car today in Chennai, GST Road....

Reminds me the good old Toyota Qualis by look, but little smaller.