![Gurgel Carajás](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Gurgel_Caraj%C3%A1s.jpg)
Gurgel Carajás was a Brazilian car, a SUV, produced by
Gurgel
Gurgel Motores () was a Brazilian automobile manufacturer, named after its founder João do Amaral Gurgel. The company was founded in 1969 and first specialised in buggies and off-road vehicles. Early models were fiberglass bodies installed on V ...
between late 1984 and January, 1991. All Carajás were 4 x 2 drive, but they were produced with three engine options: gasoline and ethanol with 1800cc, and diesel with 1600cc. It had a front engine and a rear transmission, connecting both by the use of a system called
Tork Tube System, or TTS for short. The late Carajás VIP has four doors on a slightly longer wheelbase, this version uses the same front doors as the ones fitted to the two-door models.
Between 1985 and 1990, it was the number one selling vehicle in its class in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
In 1989, Gurgel Carajás had 75% of market share, against just 25% of its only option in Brazil: the very expensive
Toyota Bandeirante
The Toyota Land Cruiser (J40), is a series of Land Cruisers made by Toyota from 1960 until 2001. Traditional body on frame, most 40 series Land Cruisers were built as 2-door models with slightly larger dimensions than the similar Jeep CJ.
T ...
. Between 1976 and 1990, importing vehicles was illegal.
This success however was over on the second semester of 1990, when the
Lada Niva came to Brazil, and Gurgel Carajás' sales fell. For
Gurgel
Gurgel Motores () was a Brazilian automobile manufacturer, named after its founder João do Amaral Gurgel. The company was founded in 1969 and first specialised in buggies and off-road vehicles. Early models were fiberglass bodies installed on V ...
, until 1990, this vehicle was very profitable; on January, 1991, the production was halted.
References
External links
CarajásPhoto and article.
Carajas
1980s cars
1990s cars
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