As the auto industry touches new highs with every passing month, car enthusiasts are finally finding the means to build cars in India. Yes we are talking about sports cars, super cars and even hypercars for that matter. Of course, there's a lot of input coming in from other countries but independent car makers have finally found their calling. Sports cars have always been cherished in the country. Mercedes-Benz has found success with the back-then SLK (which is now the SLC) and so has the BMW Z4. The film industry in the country has loved their share of Audis and Porsches too but now, with Indian manufacturers getting into the act, it's a great opportunity for car enthusiasts to take their pick when it comes to a Made-in-India product.
DC Avanti
The DC Avanti, made by Dilip Chhabria, is a a made-in and made-for-India sportscar
It's called the Avanti and the creation comes from - you guessed it right - Dilip Chhabria. Take pride in it because this one's a made-in and made-for-India. The name Avanti reminds you of the Studebaker Avanti, which was America's most powerful four-seater coupe, but clearly on the design front there is a lot that is different. The Avanti, then, has all the right elements and deserves the 'sports car' tag, but yes it leans a bit on the traditional side, when it comes to the space frame chassis. All the suspension components, gearbox, body panels and the engine are mounted on this chassis and this makes it stiffer, which is good. Powering the Avanti is a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine developing 250bhp. The motor is an off-the-shelf, four-cylinder unit, from a French car manufacturer, and it develops a torque of 340Nm. According to the people at DC designs, it sprints from 0-100km/h in just 6 seconds and with a ground clearance of 155mm, it tackles both the potholes and even the big speed breakers with ease. Yes, a lot have been sold and there's a phenomenal response for a car that costs more than Rs. 25 lakh. This urged DC to come out with another one, which was more premium and it's called the TCA sportscar which costs north of Rs. 65 lakh. Only 299 units will be made of this car and we wait to know more about it.
Mean Metal Motors
The Mean Metal Motors' M-Zero is a radical-looking parallel hybrid supercar
This one is a supercar created by Mean Metal Motors, a total of 4 teams from 4 countries (Portugal, Italy, UK, and India) have been working on the radical-looking parallel hybrid supercar. Over the last couple of years the team has made substantial progress and are now almost ready with the final prototype. Additionally, they have now finalized what the cabin of the M-Zero will look like. Mean Metal Motors struck a deal with the Tazzari Group, which is based in Imola, Italy which will see it finish building two prototypes of the M-Zero by the end of 2018 and this means that the cars will be out there in the market by 2019. MMM has struck a €3.3 million deal with the Tazzari Group and this will see the Italy-based EV firm manufacture the cars as well. Yes, we were a bit disappointed that the car will not be made in India but well, we're glad that we have shown prowess in designing an electric car inside out; so world, please take notice! While there are a bunch of changes to the design elements of the M-Zero, we'll also see a whole bunch of changes in the materials used to build the car.One of the most intriguing details about the project's progress is a new material innovation by the group - Carboflax. It combines flax fibre, which is not only inexpensive but also offers a wide array of potential application, with carbon fibre to produce a hybrid composite material. The M-Zero will also see an integrated augmented reality based display with modules for navigation, infotainment, battery meter, speedometer and other vital stats. Artificial Intelligence has already been developed which will help integrate environment controls in the car like collision avoidance, lane change, drive assists and much more. We can't wait to see the prototype of the car and hope that it will be brought to India soon.
Tata RaceMo
TAMO Racemo is a 2-seater sub-4 metre sports car
Tata Motors took the covers off the new Racemo sports coupe at the 87th Geneva Motor Show. The car was the first product showcased under Tata's new sub-brand TAMO. Racemo is a 2-seater sports car that sits under 4 metres in length (3835 mm) and sports a rear-mounted mid-engine. The Racemo is powered by the 1.2 litre turbocharged Revotron aluminium engine and surprisingly has a 6-Speed AMT with paddle shift. Power output is 186 bhp and it has 210 Nm of peak torque. Tata says the Racemo will do 0-100 kmph in under 6 seconds. The car uses a special body that has Tata's MOFlex multi-material sandwich structure. Designed at the Tata Motors' Design Studio in Turin, Italy, Racemo does draw on Tata's design language that has elements like the 'Humanity Line', and 'Diamond DLO' that we have seen on recent cars from the Tata stable. The car's MOFlex body construction takes into account crash protection, and the Racemo sports driver and passenger air bags to meet the updated Indian regulations that will be in place before it launches. The Racemo comes with a ground clearance of 165 mm and this is important as far as Indian road conditions are concerned but it will also come down to what the suspension setup is like on the car. Sadly though, the company has shelved this project as of now but we hope to see it back on track soon and we wait with bated breath to drive it.
Varzani Shul
Vazirani Shul is touted as India's first hypercar
While the world has looked towards the manufacturers of Europe and America for spellbinding hypercars, India can now claim to be a hypercar maker as well. Vazirani Automotive has unveiled the Vazirani Shul turbine-electric hypercar at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Shul though is still in a conceptual stage and the automaker will be putting the prototype to testing later this year. Vazirani Automotive is headed by designer and co-founder Chunky Vazirani, who has worked closely with the Sahara Force India Formula 1 team and tyre maker Michelin in the development of its new electric hypercar. The Vazirani Shul looks every bit stunning with a design that has been influenced by the wind tunnel, and is reminiscent of the Pininfarina H2 Speed Concept. However, it is the powertrain that sets itself apart from other offerings. Power on the Shul comes from a jet turbine engine that feeds from a four electric motor set-up. Each of the four electric motors are located beside the wheel to provide fully independent torque vectoring. The hypercar promises rapid acceleration with torque-heavy performance without compromising on range. The car has been developed in collaboration with a company in the UK for the development of the turbines. The turbine-electric motor is paired to a single ratio transmission, similar to the Koenigsegg Regera. Vazirani Automotive co-founder, Chunky Vazirani, has previously worked with Jaguar and Land Rover as well as Rolls-Royce. The company finds its roots in India, even though it's almost entirely designed at the automaker's studio in California, US. It is also likely to be manufactured in the Californian state, once goes into production.
