REINVENTING A LEGEND

For the longest time, the original Gypsy was a must-have car for the Indian youth, rally drivers, and even the armed forces. Now, the new Jimny is going to arrive soon. But can it recreate the same magic? We find out.

- ISHAN RAGHAVA

If you're from the generation that grew up in the 90s, like me, and have any interest in cars, you'd have distinct memories of the Maruti Gypsy. India's first proper SUV, the Gypsy was the vehicle to have back then. At a time when the Indian market was still closed to the world, it was virtually impossible to own anything cool, let alone a car that looked the business and was incredibly capable. The Gypsy was the exception, of course. And it was because of its capabilities that it remained the vehicle of choice for rally drivers for well over two decades, and even the Indian armed forces swore by it. In fact, I have my own little Gypsy story. At the age of six, I bullied my father into buying it as his first car. For some time, he argued that the then-new Ambassador Nova might be a better car, but I had none of it, and he ultimately had to succumb to my obstinance.

KING OF COOL

One of the biggest challenges that companies trying to reinvent a legendary product face is to make it modern while retaining the original character of the product that made it famous. Over the years, Mercedes has done it flawlessly with one of my favourite vehicles of all time, the G Wagen - every new generation of the vehicles feels like the original G, with all its quirks and yet modern and up to date.

At first glance, Maruti Suzuki seems to also have achieved this with the Jimny. It retains the signature touches of the Gypsy - round headlamps, flat sides, flared arches, and the almost vertical glasshouse, along with the side-hinged tailgate and a spare tyre mounted on it. Now, despite India getting a 5-door version of the Jimny - the first country in the world to get it - its proportions are as good as those of the three-door version.