The Vellore Post Office bid adieu to their colleague, a Maruti Gypsy, which served the office for 22 years.

t's an end of an era. Maruti Suzuki has pulled the plug on the Gypsy SUV in India. The two-door off-roader was introduced in the country in 1985 and has remained one of the longest-running models in production. In an official communication to its dealers, the automaker has asked showrooms to stop accepting bookings for the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy. The SUV was already available on a made-to-order basis and has remained largely the same over the past three decades.

The iconic Maruti Suzuki Gypsy was launched in December 1985 and since has barely had any major changes in terms of the way it looks. Underneath the skin, the car has gone through a fair few updates including a wider track and the evolution from the 1-litre to the 1.3-litre carb engine to the current 1.3-litere MPFI BS4 engine in order to meet emissions standards. That said, production of the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy will now come to an end in March 2019 as it will not be getting an update for the new ABS and airbag rules that are soon to be enforced in India. Bookings for the new car will continue through November and will be shut next month so if you want to grab a slice of classic Indian automotive heritage in a brand new avatar, here is your last chance. A brand new Gypsy will set you back about Rs 7.5 lakh (on-road)and most dealers insist on a full payment for the car before taking the order.