As opposed to pickup manufacturers like Toyota, Isuzu and Mahindra (upcoming), Force Gurkha Pickup single cab will cater to Overlanding niche
In a rather interesting turn of events, Force Motors seems to have identified a niche and is testing out the idea with engineering samples. We’re talking about a 2S Force Gurkha Pickup single cab in a ravishing red shade. There’s nothing new on this test mule as it packs all its components from the company’s parts bin.
Force Gurkha Pickup Single Cab Spotted For The First Time
A new day, and a brand new Force Motors test mule. If you’re wondering how many of them are there, let’s take a count. We have the 5-Door Gurkha (7S or 9S) launching soon, we have the 13S Giant Gurkha, Gurkha Pickup truck, Gurkha Pickup truck with a soft top and roll cage and we have also seen Kargo King test mules as well.
Latest spy shots to surface on the internet are thanks to automotive enthusiast Suryakant Raje Bhosale. What we have here, is an amalgamation of two different vehicles to create a unique offering that should cater to a very specific niche. It is like Force Motors gathered parts lying around in the factory from other Force vehicles and created a hot product.
We like what we see. This Force Gurkha Pickup single cab is a Kargo King with the face of a Gurkha. By the looks of it, it seems to be carrying all the off-road prowess from Gurkha lineup too. We can see similar fascia as Gurkha with a snorkel and a grill for windshield along with similar 18-inch alloys.
Only fly in the ointment is that commercial application flatbed load bay which is shorter in height than what we saw on Kargo King test mule. We hope Force Motors offers a smooth and streamlined load bay like it is offering with 5-Door Gurkha Pickup. We wouldn’t mind wheel-well intrusions at all. When launched, it will be powered with the same 2.6L FM CR Diesel engine making 95 bhp and 250 Nm, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Catering to a niche
Force Motors is struggling to make a name for itself in mainstream PV segment with 3-Door Gurkha. The prospects might change with soon-to-launch 5-Door Gurkha. That said, moving into niche segments and creating unique offerings is still a good business strategy and Force Motors seems to be embracing this.
There is an uproar in lifestyle adventure vehicles in India. But none of the companies are catering to the Overlanding niche. If Force Motors launched this Gurkha Pickup single cab without that unappealing load bed and with this red shade, 4X4 transfer case, front and rear mechanical locking differentials, snorkel, G-Class inspired lighting elements, 18-inch alloys and price it around Rs. 10 lakh (ex-sh), I would buy one myself.
I hope Force Motors sells a variant of this vehicle with just the single cab and chassis without any load bay. It would be an instant hit with Overlanding niche. The era of sub Rs. 10 lakh pickup trucks died with Tata Xenon XT (RIP), and we hope Force Motors picks up that mantle.
