The 1,500th Army-spec Safari Storme GS800 (General Service 800) has rolled off Tata Motors' production line at Pune. The carmaker had bagged an order to supply 3,192 units to the Indian Armed forces out of which more than 1,300 units have already been delivered.

According to Tata Motors, the Safari Storme GS800 was developed in-house to meet the requirements of the Indian Army. It has a minimum payload capacity of 800 kg. It is powered by a diesel engine that is claimed to have 70% higher output and 200% more torque than the standard Safari Storme. Payload capacity has also increased by 60%.

The Safari Storme GS800 comes equipped with ABS, fog lamps, air-conditioning, power windows, mobile charging point, recovery hooks and jerry cans. It has bucket seats and has room for six crew members.

Tata Motors has unveiled a 3-door, soft-top version of the Safari Storme GS800 for the Indian Army. The car was showcased at the recently concluded Defence Expo in Chennai.

The new car comes with an air-conditioned cabin and can seat five people. It has a payload capacity of 825 kg and comes equipped with recovery hooks, a jerry can and mobile charging points. 

The vehicle on display was equipped with a Mobile Emergency Communication System (MECS) which includes an antenna and a mast. It enables one-way or two-way communication in case of an emergency. The system can also be converted into an LTE base station within 15 minutes by plugging in a 'Network in a Box' (NIB).

Under the hood is a 2.2-litre, turbocharged diesel engine paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The SUV gets all-wheel drive as standard. The Safari Storme GS800 is also available in a 5-door, hard-top body style.

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 Army.

Source: Autocar India

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!

A test mule of an army-spec Tata Safari Storme has been spotted in Pune. 

The spy shots indicate that the Safari Storme in army-spec gets minor exterior modifications. It gets steel wheels and lacks the plastic body-cladding, which is offered on the civilian version. It is likely to get a tow-hook and a bonnet mounted antenna as well. 

The army-spec Storme is likely to be powered by the same 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder Varicor 400 diesel engine as the standard car. This power plant produces 154 BHP @ 4,000 rpm and 400 Nm of torque @ 1,750-2,500 rpm and is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. A four-wheel drive system with low-range will be offered as standard in this model. 

The Indian Army is replacing its fleet of personal carrier vehicles with these SUVs. This was confirmed when Tata Motors announced that it will supply 3,192 units of the army-spec Safari Storme 4x4 SUV to the Indian Army earlier this year.

As reported earlier, the Safari Storme will be introduced in the General Service 800 (GS800) category of defence vehicles. This requires the vehicle to have a minimum payload capacity of 800 kg, a hard roof and air-conditioning. The Tata Safari Storme will replace the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy 4x4 (GS500) that has been a part of the army's fleet since 1991.

Source: Cartoq

Tata Motors has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence, under which the home-grown automaker will be supplying 3,192 units of the Safari Storme 4x4 SUV to the Indian Armed Forces.

The Safari Storme will be introduced in the defence forces under a new category of vehicles - GS800 (General Service 800), which has three major criteria - minimum payload capacity of 800 kg, hard roof and air conditioning. The government had earlier floated an RFP (request for proposal) for the induction of vehicles under this new category. The Safari Storme has already completed the trial run of 15 months with the armed forced, in various terrains across India.

This marks a replacement of the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy in the 4x4 light vehicle category for the Indian Armed Forces. The Gypsy was listed in the GS500 category and has been a part of the army fleet since 1991, with Maruti having supplied over 30,000 units to the defence forces. But with the need for hard top vehicle with a higher payload capacity, the Ministry of Defence decided to introduce the bigger GS800 category, under which the Safari Storme will be supplied.