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At the ongoing DefExpo 2018 – an exhibition that showcases military equipment including vehicles – a Tata Safari Storme pick-up truck in Indian Army camouflage colours was showcased. This vehicle also had the GS800 label, which indicates that it seems ready to be offered to the Indian Army, which specifies that General Service (GS) vehicles need to have a payload of 800 kilograms.
Well, this is what GS800 stands for – General Service 800, a specification for new lightweight personnel carriers that the Indian army has opted for.
The Safari Storme GS800 pick-up truck showcased at the DefExpo 2018 gets a shorter wheelbase than the personnel carrier model, a single cab design while the flat bed at the rear is meant for personnel or equipment. The flat-bed gets a soft top. The vehicle has 4X4 capability, and it’s likely that the mechanical specifications are similar to the Safari Storme GS800 personnel carrier that Tata Motors recently supplied to the Indian Army.
What this means is, the 2.2 liter VariCor turbocharged diesel engine a four cylinder layout could power the GS800 pick-up truck model as well. This engine produces 154 Bhp of peak power and 400 Nm of peak torque, making it the m st powerful motor produced by an Indian automaker for SUVs. The gearbox is a 6 speed unit that drives the rear wheels in 2WD mode. In 4WD mode, the 4X4 transfer case comes into play, driving all four wheels.
The 4X4 transfer case is from Borg Warner and it features the shift-on-the-fly function. Shift-on-the-fly function allows the driver of the vehicle to toggle between two wheel drive and four wheel drive modes even when the vehicle is in movement, through a rotary knob mounted on the dashboard. The Safari Storme GS800 pick-up truck’s 4X4 transfer case is expected to have both low and high range options, as is the case with the hard-top personnel carrier version.
