Remember Don Corleone? The Rain Forest Challenge-winning Force Gurkha is akin to the ‘Godfather’ of Indian off-roading vehicles. Force Motors made us an offer we could hardly decline — experience the Gurkha in its element
Story: Ryan Lee
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
Bigger, better and ready for war, three Rain Forest Challenge (RFC) Gurkhas set out on a mission to conquer the Indian iteration of one of the most extreme off-roading events in the world: the RFC in Goa, and once again these rugged vehicles proved their mettle emerging champions and winning the top two spots in the competition.
I was at the RFC last month and saw the Gurkhas in action, and, boy, was it a treat to watch! So when Force Motors decided to showcase these off-road monsters at their Akurdi plant, near Pune, I was highly excited to get behind the wheel.
After a brief presentation, we made our way to the off-road track and I was smiling to myself, Eminem’s song Monster playing in my head. “I’m friends with a monster…. you think I’m crazy.” Guess what? I’m just about crazy enough to try and tame this monster.
After taking a moment to catch my breath back following my first sight of the monstrous Gurkha, I was given a guided tour of the specially prepared course by the Force Motors team. The course included steep inclines, tricky descends and pit crossings.
After the tour, I climbed into the passenger seat for a drive with Anant Gurav, one of the men behind the making of the Gurkha. As we reached the pit and started the descent, I thought the front end would scrape the bottom of the pit. To my surprise, however, there was not a sound, thanks to the extreme approach and departure angles of 48˚ (front) and 44˚ (back) — not a single part touched the ground. Moreover, the modified double-spring suspension with heavy-duty shock-absorbers, which have 40-inch travel, gave the Gurkha enough and more ground clearance to clear the pit with ease.
Next was a steep incline followed by an equally steep descent. Anant powered through to the top and then stopped to look at me. I was stunned! Yes, I was. The slope that I found daunting the Gurkha tackled it like a squirrel. He just smiled, and said, ‘Power’. The descent looked really tricky, but the Gurkha stuck to its path, bouncing in and out of potholes before stopping on flat ground. I got out dazed, amazed by what the Gurkha is capable of.
It was now my turn behind the wheel. Strapped in, I was ready to make the descent. Being in the driver’s seat of this monster was a different feel altogether; the high perch and the commanding view it offers makes you feel like a king surveying his kingdom. I slowly let go of the clutch and made the descent down the steep slope. Once again the Gurkha cleared the pit without any part scraping the earth beneath. Next was the tougher part: the steep incline up ahead. I gained as much momentum as I could on the short run up the slope, slotted the gear into second, turned the rear-diff locks on and powered my way up. Woah, that was awesome. I could feel the 140 PS and 320 Nm torque made by the 2.2-litre CRDe engine push me all the way up the hillock, at this point all I could see was the blue sky.
Reaching the top I felt like I was on top of the world (both literally and figuratively), but it was not over yet. Gingerly, I began my downward journey. The way down was through tall grass and shrubs with potholes everywhere — potholes to me but for the Gurkha it seemed to be just another insignificant bump along the way. Steering the Gurkha was a dream, the hydraulic steering system borrowed from the Force Balwan tractor was as smooth as butter and easy to manoeuvre.
After crossing the mini forest area, I had to drive the Gurkha on an angled trail. At first I thought it would tip over, but it held its line and inched forward with just a gentle nudge of the throttle. This trail showcased the Gurkha’s extreme articulation capabilities and it was extremely impressive.
After finishing my little off-road escapade, I climbed down from the cabin, knees slightly wobbly and grinning from ear to ear. The Gurkha is indeed the godfather of Indian off-road vehicles. Even though this RFC-spec Gurkha is not on sale, one can always buy the Gurkha SUV which is also a very capable off-road vehicle, and then tinker with it to match this iteration.
A whisper doing the rounds suggests that a new Gurkha is in the pipeline, one which will get the same engine as its RFC sibling. We shall wait and watch what Force Motors have in store for the future, until then it looks like the RFC Gurkha will be conquering the Rain Forests of Goa once again next year.
