Army-spec Tata Safari's deliveries begin

Thanks to Vimal Rawat for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this page!

Back in 2017, Tata Motors signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence to supply 3,192 units of the Safari Storme 4x4 SUV to the Indian Armed Forces. Now, spy images indicate that deliveries for the same have commenced. The Army-spec Safari was seen being unloaded at a Tata yard in New Delhi. The Army-CVD (Central Vehicles Depot) is also located at Delhi.

The new images reveal some more details. The Safari gets a beige and black interior, individual reading lamps for the front and middle rows, along with a manual Subros air conditioning unit, ABS 9.1 and dual airbags. On the outside, changes include a matte green paint job exclusive for the Army, heavy duty rear tow hook, provision to attach jerry cans on the rear left side, as well as front and rear black-out lamps. Further, all the chrome bits have been either blackened out or painted in the same shade as the exterior colour.

The Army-spec Safari Storme is powered by the familiar 2.2-liter Varicor engine. In the standard car, it puts out 154 BHP @ 4,000 rpm and 400 Nm of torque @ 1,750-2,500 rpm. The engine is paired with a 6-speed gearbox and a 4x4 low range box as standard.

The Safari was selected after undergoing a 15-month trial period. It comes under a new category of General Service 800 (GS800), which had three major requirements including an 800 kg payload, hard roof and air conditioning. Apart from this, the vehicle must also be equipped with 4x4 and be suitably modified as per other defence requirements. The Safari is touted to be the replacement for the Maruti Gypsy (GS500), which has been in service in the Army since 1991. All we can say is, our armed forces will enjoy the Safari Storme's awesome ride quality & space!