TASK 1 THE YUMP TEST

I’m usually game to go airborne on motorcycles, but cars, I’m not so sure. Okay, I’ve tasted high-speed millisecond hang-time on tarmac thanks to a couple of softly-sprung Volkswagens, but this is different. For me, this was a scale of happenings I’d never seen before and then to be instructed to do it brought me much closer to God than I’ve ever been, though not too close for comfort, as is evident by the fact that I’m still writing this story. For those who want to try this at home, figuratively speaking of course, remember the words ‘never at an angle’ and ‘gun the throttle'.  What happens if you fail to comply on either count? Well, you either end in an awful landing, or don’t take off at all. Not cool, no? Anyway, let’s get this straight – the Gypsy has leaf springs all-round whereas the Thar has an independent front suspension with leaf springs at the rear. What this means is that the Thar is way softer whereas the Gypsy has always enjoyed its reputation of being a backbone crusher. And in yumping country, this translates to the Gypsy being easier to yump although on landing, it tends to bounce back a few times. The Thar takes off easily too, but thanks to the suspension dive, slows proceedings down once you hit the ramp (something you have to counter with extra throttle) and once you land, the tyres scrape the insides of the fenders. Anyway, both can yump spectacularly although word is the Gypsy can withstand yumping longer than the Thar. We didn’t verify that, of course.

Result: A flying Thar is so spectacular, but the Gypsy’s been doing it for ages!

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