This Modified Army Jonga Looks Magnificent, And Its For Sale!

A few Auto/Army enthusiasts might remember the Jonga, a 4x4 exclusively built by the Indian Army under licensed manufacturing from Nissan. It was based on the 1960 Nissan P60 and was manufactured by Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ), a military motor vehicle manufacturing unit of Ordnance Factory Board situated in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The P60 took on the name Jonga, an acronym for “Jabalpur Ordnance & Guncarriage Assembly”.

A Nissan P60 based Jonga, as used by the Indian Army

Owing to its high ground clearance and powerful yet reliable Japanese-designed engine, the Jonga quickly became the vehicle of choice for various military requirements on rough terrains. Jongas have served as army ambulances, signal vehicles, recovery vehicles, and expedition vehicles. It was especially popular in mountainous terrain due to its rugged nature and high stance, before production was stopped in 1999.

Auto enthusiasts have been quick to pick up working units of Jonga from various army auctions and even through some private dealings. Of course, it is impossible to find pristine examples and even a mediocre one could cost you an arm and a leg for its restoration. Thankfully, you don’t have to restore one yourself. You could just buy one that has been fixed, like this green beast below.

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The above example is a 1998 model and been restored by WS Design. The asking price for this particular model is Rs. 20 lakhs. Apart from bringing it up to fully working condition, there have been a lot of tasteful changes and modifications done on it as well. It gets a snorkel, off-road bumpers with integrated foglamps and a winch mounted on the front bumper. To further cement its off-roading intent, there are huge tires with block pattern tread mounted on relatively small wheels, and a roof-rack complete with a spare tyre. It also gets a few auxiliary lights to brighten up a dark path. The green paint on the bodywork is quite striking, and the blacked-out roof, snorkel, front grill, and bumpers, compliment the overall design.

As for the things that remain stock, you have the engine, gearbox, and differential. The engine is a 4.0-liter diesel engine designed by Hino, a Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual transmission. The differential sends power to both the front and rear axles, making this a Four-wheel-drive vehicle.

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The interiors of this vehicle are an absolute delight, with great attention to detail. The seats are black with diamond pattern on them, and get green borders to match the exteriors. It also gets a Momo steering wheel, black, with green stitching, along with green branding as well. Additionally, it also features a powerful AC and a touchscreen infotainment system, just to add a modern touch! Rest of the dashboard is stock, including all the dials, stalks and buttons.

With all its bells and whistles, this particular Jonga would be at home in the mud as it would be on the roads. At Rs. 20 Lakh, it does seem like a very pricey deal, but considering the rich heritage of the Jonga, there aren’t many things that can hold a candle to it. Add to that the exclusivity factor, and you can now justify the steep price.

Images courtesy - WS off-road warriors, Mumbai