Tata Motors' Tryst With Performance Cars

The launch of the Tiago JTP and Tigor JTP signifies a new era for Tata Motors. However, it isn’t the first time Tata Motors has developed an out and out performance machine. So let’s take a look at some of them from the recent past.

Tata Aria Coupe and Roadster

Back at the 2000 Geneva Auto Show, Tata Motors grabbed the attention of automotive journalists from across the world with the Aria Roadster. Based on the same platform as the Indica, the car had nothing to do with the Aria MPV that came after it. It was proposed to be powered by either a 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre petrol engine and was styled by IDEA Institute in Italy. The Aria Roadster was meant to showcase the versatility of the Indica platform.

Check out our first drive review of the Tata Tiago JTP and Tigor JTP here.

Later next year, the carmaker appeared at the Geneva Motor Show for a third time. This time around, it decided to unveil a sleeker coupe version of the Aria Roadster. At the time, Tata said that the Aria Coupe and Roadster would develop around 140PS of power, which would have made it two of the most powerful cars to be ever made it. As you guessed by now, that was never meant to be as the company shelved the plan. However, it did show us what the carmaker was capable of producing as the Aria Coupe was showcased with a carbon-fibre dashboard and an aluminium centre console, both of which were only starting to become a mainstay in European performance cars!

Tata Indica D90

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The Indica D90 surprised us all back in 2013 as it was the first diesel hatchback in the country that could be called quick. It was powered by a more powerful version of the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre turbocharged engine. Major changes included the addition of a variable geometry turbocharger that reduced lag and helped the engine produce 15PS more than the stock car. The new output stood at 90PS and 200Nm of torque. It also received a revised front suspension with a tweaked torsion beam for a stiffer yet more compliant ride.

It also featured many first-in-class features as well, including a touchscreen music system (yes, music not infotainment) and automatic climate control. It even offered ABS with EBD as standard! The launch of the Indica D90 prompted Fiat to launch the Punto with the more powerful engine and start a diesel war in the hatchback segment.

Tata Super Nano

Come 2014, Tata Motors tied up with Coimbatore-based JA Motorsport, which is now known for making MRF Formula cars, to develop the Super Nano. Yes, that’s right! The carmaker converted the most affordable car in the world into a complete track monster replete with a roll cage and racing slicks. Of course, it’s rear engine, rear-wheel drive configuration was the perfect base for developing a driver’s car.

The Super Nano featured a full body kit, slick tyres, a bolt-on roll cage and smoked headlamps and taillamps apart from a carbon-fibre dashboard, Recaro seats and a race-spec steering wheel with paddle shifters. However, the standout feature was its 1.3-litre engine from the Suzuki Hayabusa which was tuned to produce around 230PS of power and a claimed top speed of 190kmph.

JA Motorsport also worked on the chassis and gave the Super Nano negative camber on the wheels along with disc brakes sourced from AP Racing on all wheels . Back then, it had enough poke to be called the fastest hatchback in India. The whole project was estimated to cost JA Motorsport Rs 25 lakh, which was almost ten times the price of the standard car!

Tata Bolt Sport

Two years later, at the 2016 Auto Expo, Tata Motors pulled the wraps off the Bolt Sport. The Sport featured mechanical updates and an aggressive body kit and looked like hit could hit the production line any moment. Key changes include a modified 1.2-litre Revotron turbo-petrol and a revised ECU from the standard Bolt, a revised suspension with stiffer springs and dampers as well as a performance calibrated electronic power steering.

As far as the design was concerned, the Bolt Sport got a revised front bumper with a larger chin and bigger airdam, side skirts, 17-inch alloy wheels, a revised rear bumper with a faux diffuser and a black roof wrap to set it apart from the standard model. On the inside, it featured an all-black cabin with red contrast stitching and body-coloured accents.

The 1.2-litre motor was tuned to produce 110PS of power and 170Nm of torque, which was almost 30PS and 30Nm more than the standard car. Heck, the Bolt Sport offered more torque than the latest JTP models. A 5-speed manual gearbox sent power to the front wheels and Tata claimed a 0-100kmph time of 12 seconds.

TaMo Racemo

Tata Motors continued its love affair with Geneva Motor Show by unveiling its first-ever sports car concept at the 2017 edition of the premier automotive event. The front-engined, two-seater sports car, which was named the was named the Racemo, was meant to be produced by an offshoot of the manufacturer called TaMo. It claimed to produce around 190PS of power and 210Nm of torque from the 1.2-litre Revotron petrol engine, which was mated to a 6-speed AMT with paddle shifters. Tata showcased three versions of the Racemo as the 2018 Auto Expo but shelved the plan to produce it soon after.

The sports car was claimed to hit 0-100kmph in 6 seconds, which would have made it the fastest car to ever been produced by Tata. Designed at Tata’s studio in Turin, the Racemo was based on a patented MOFlex modular platform with Multi-Material Sandwich (MMS) structure. The Racemo was also meant to be Tata’s first connected car with technology such as cloud computing, analytics and geo-spatial mapping. Although it never saw the light of day, the Racemo became the first-ever car from Tata to feature in the popular arcade racing game called Forza Horizon 3. Read more about it here.