10 Most Bizarre Vehicles That Were Once On Sale In India!

The transportation sector in extreme rural India used to have many surprises in the past. Even today, vehicles targeted at rural and semi-rural areas have a different air to them and are more or less utilitarian. Many parts of our country are quite serious about the concept of ‘people-carrier’ and have over the years built vehicles that look outlandish but are functional and low-cost solutions as people carriers.

Tempo Hanseat

The Hanseat looks strange and is still being used as a people carrier in many rural areas. This vehicle was originally launched by Force Motors in the 1960s and is thus a very old model. It is a three-wheeler powered by a 452cc, twin-cylinder petrol engine that produces 20 bhp. The motor sits at the front and powers the front wheel. Indian villages and outskirts once had this vehicle in plenty. Today, however, finding a well-kept Hanseat is rare and difficult.

Hindustan Motors Trekker

Hindustan Motors (HM) is known for two models- the Contessa and Ambassador. Besides these, HM once had the Trekker on sale. This was more of a bare-bone SUV for carrying people around. Many parts of the HM Trekker were shared with the Contessa and Ambassador. For example, it used the headlamps and suspension setup of the Ambassador. The powertrain too came straight from the sedan. Today, this vehicle has become a rare find.

Hindustan Veer

There was a time when HM actively tried to diversify its product range across segments and body styles. They even built a pickup truck out of the Ambassador. It was called the Veer ( Porter in some markets). It was primarily targeted at the commercial vehicle segment, and was honestly, far from good-looking! Almost no one bought it and HM soon axed the Veer.

Sipani Badal

The car that Mr Bean hated the most and often had conflicts with- yes, the Blue one. It is called the Reliant Regal Supervan, a small three-wheeled car and van from the UK. The successor to this vehicle was the Reliant Robin which had similar proportions and design. Not that it became a huge commercial success, but the Reliant sure got attention and managed to turn heads.

The Sipani Badal was India’s answer to the Robin. Sipani Limited started as Sunrise Automotive Industries limited (SAIL) in 1973 and was rebranded in the 1980s. It made the Badal out of fiberglass! It had three wheels- two at the back and one at the front, and should have almost felt like a better-built auto! It even had a three-door design and was powered by a 198-cc 2-stroke petrol engine mated to a 4-speed manual transmission. Just the rear wheels were powered and had brakes! The front ones were for steering alone. Unsurprisingly, the model flopped!

Tata Spacio

While the two might look a lot like each other, the Spacio is not the same as Tata Sumo. It is in fact, the soft top version of the Sumo which also ditched doors, intended to fit more people in easily. Powered by the Tata 407 DI pickup truck’s  3.0-litre engine (The Sumo had a 2.0L engine though), it was targeted at Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Mahindra Gio

This vehicle was an option for the 3-wheeler buyers. It was rightly called the ‘ Compact cab’ even while being powered by a powerful 442cc, single-cylinder, direct injection diesel engine that produced 9bhp and 21.5 Nm. The design was more or less amateurish. But there was some x-factor to the way it looked.

Polaris Multix

The Multix again, was targetted at the rural market. It packed a unique proposition by being able to serve as a people carrier, goods carrier and even a generator set for a pump or a small house. Powering the Multix was a Greaves 510cc, single-cylinder engine made 9.8 Bhp and 27 Nm. The manufacturer axed the model in May 2018.

Jugaad

These vehicles aren’t made by any specific manufacturer, but by local workshops and mechanics. These are thus referred to as Jugaad. Many units can still be found in Tier II and Tier III cities. In most cases, these used components of various other vehicles and were thus pretty cheap to own and operate. In some parts of the country, these are also referred to as Chhakda. 

Vikram

The Vikram was a three-wheeler built for the crowds! It was large, could accommodate a lot of people inside and had a rather unstable design. Travelling in these was thus cheap. Both petrol and CNG versions were on sale and many people even managed to install diesel engines in these for further optimising operational costs.

E-Rickshaws

The electric three wheeler space has been gaining good footfalls recently. But do you remember how it started? Early e-rikshaws were very basic and outlandish. There were more or less just metal pieces joined together and powered by electric motors. These were used as last-mile connectivity options and for last mile deliveries. Initially, you did not even need a valid driver’s license to operate these, as the specs were very low.