The Buggy looks nothing like its donor car, which believe it or not is a Maruti Omni. The totally custom built car has some really interesting design. Affectionately the owner calls it a ‘Buggy’, the engine and chassis are borrowed from the former.
Exterior is made of 18 Gauge Sheet Metal and is finished with red colour scheme, there are no bumpers at both front and rear instead the steel guard does the job for added safety. The curved design vintage-styled chrome garnished poping-out headlamps gives the Buggy a unique look. While the seeming bonnet is long and curvy, the actual van has the engine under its dual-front seats.
The Telangana registered number plate is pasted between the bright chrome-finished horn. Note the neat Suzuki badge embedded on the hood, also the tribute to Suzuki is paid through-out the car. The indicators are place below the windshield on both the sides. Rear fascia is decorated with bulgy fixed panels and tail lamps, and the top is left open like a golf cart.
Devoid of any doors, you step inside this open car, which sports cushiony front facing seats on the front and a bench-like seat at the rear is strictly for kids. The dashboard too is custom-made, including the sporty racing steering wheel. The instrument cluster is taken from Maruti Omni but placed in the centre. It has a Pioneer music system with 2 speakers at the front and 2 speakers at the rear.
The Buggy has a 175/75-13 on/off-road tires, shod onto 5-spoke alloy wheels preferred for off-roading. Wheel arches are flared but does not extend all the way outwards to cover the tires from atop. Fuel filler is re-located from fender to the boot, cap of which seems like the one used in entry-level motorcycles. In order to open the tail-gate and access the boot, the steel rack on the trunk is used.
Mechanically, the Buggy remains unchanged using a 796cc 3-cylinder petrol engine but it has a custom made exhaust which sounds really good. This engine generates a maximum power of 33 bhp at 5000 rpm and maximum torque output of 57 Nm which arrives at 2500 rpm. This unit is paired to a 4-speed manual gearbox. The light weight might also contribute to the powerful performance of the Buggy.
This car is owned by Syed Farid. Their family isn’t new to the car modification world, in the early 80’s his father had three modified vehicles (seen below) including – 2 Standard Herald’s (Yellow, White) and Fiat Padmini (Red). In those day, these older Buggy’s were seen in movies like Ek Se Bhale Do and in some Cola adds too. Now 35 years later, its legacy lives on and Buggy’s new model. The 2015 Buggy was designed by Farid with the some inputs given by his father, the car from scratch costed him about Rs. 4.50 lakh.
Checkout more pictures, after a jump.
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Also see: Shankarrao’s 1975 Small Car Meera Strikingly similar to Tata Nano!
GALLERY: 2015 Buggy
GALLERY: Early 80’s Buddy
