Ever heard about a working miniature version of an old Jeep? This never heard idea has been incorporated by a man named, Shakir, from Malappuram district in Kerala who has been trending all across the social media for building a miniature version of an old-school Jeep off-road SUV.
The vehicle is a replica of an old Willys Jeep and has a removable soft-top, headlights along with power steering and manual gearbox. Originally, the jeep was an electric vehicle powered by a 1000 watts motor, later on Shakir did an add on of a motorcycle engine, which was procured from Bajaj Discover.
Talking about the making of this miniature, Shakir said, he built the vehicle almost 6 years ago at his home. He single handedly built the chassis and the sheet metal work was done at a local workshop. The total time dedicated by him to build the vehicle was about 1 year and the total cost was Rs 1.75 Lakh. The addition of motorcycle engine has led to better performance of the vehicle as he gets an average fuel efficiency of about 35 kmpl.
The vehicle has been built by amalgamating parts from different vehicles and sources. For example, the wheels were extracted from various cars but the tyres come from a Tata Ace mini truck. The jeep has a lot of 9 gears, which are spilt between a floor-mounted 5-speed unit that comes from an Omni and a separate lever below the dashboard for the remaining 4 gears. It also comes with a set of leaf spring suspension similar to the original jeep.
Among other features, this mini Jeep comes with a power steering, push-button start, a working fuel gauge, headlights, a horn, a 2DIN music system and a sliding driver seat. The Jeep also comes with two side-facing bench seats at the back and a foldable front windshield. The vehicle, which is essentially built for children can also fit up to 2-3 average-sized adults.