On the power & image trail
Overdrive - September 1, 2003

"CAN you make it to the ERC test track on Sunday morning?" came the pleasant voice of Dr V Sumantran. "I know that it is deadline time for you but trust me it will be worth it." Having put it that way I knew I couldn't possibly decline and more so I was intrigued enough to ask what we were being treated to. "We have something you will like," said Dr Sumantran, "something we have done with our new petrol engine."

Ah, I thought I knew what was on offer and even said as much to the good doctor but he didn't want to let the cat out of the bag. So even though it was the 17th of the month and our fifth anniversary issue was in its final wrap up stage, I managed to rustle up Aspi Bhathena and our shutterbug Suresh Narayanan and we headed to the ERC test track at Tata Motors sprawling facility in Pimpri eager to see what Sumantran and his charged up team had lined up for us.

See is the wrong word for we heard it before we saw it. The bark of a racing car on full chat was heard and then we could hear the staccato bursts from the exhaust as the driver began going through the 'box to take the thoroughbred through to somewhere close to its performance peak. "I hope you can now visualise what we have got for you, " said Dr Sumantran as I drove with him in the Safari petrol. Taking my thought process into radical mode, I ventured forth and said, "I think you have got J Anand to shoehorn a tuned Safari petrol engine into the bonnet of an Indica Sport. I know that you want to make a hot hatch and this would be the hottest you can go and also get away with." His eyes lit up and I could see that I had struck a chord but I was disappointed when he said, "That will come but what we have for you is our Safari petrol engine in a spanking new single seater chassis. "

Even before I could exult we were on the test track and I could see a single seater car turned out in pristine white with the Tata name emblazoned on the nose and sides while the helmet in India colours looked familiar. And before all of you guys go ballistic and think that this is the racing car Narain Karthikeyan will now drive in F1, held your horses fellas, there is nothing of this sort, as yet!

The performance driven enthusiast that is Dr Sumantran knew that his firm has a decent petrol engine on its hands and what better way to put it across to the public at large that it was not only a maker of trucks but also a serious and determined player in automobiles as well who knew how to wield petrol propulsion. 'We wanted to make the link that our new petrol engine was good enough not just to power modem SUVs like the Safari but also a very good basis for use as the prime mover for an entry level racing car. Accordingly J Anand saw the potential in such and came up with this Tata Formula 2000 racing car," said Sumantran.

It was one of the most potent teasers I had ever seen from an Indian automobile maker but it took foresight and a great deal of courage to put an unproven - on the roads in public use - powerplant in a racing car chassis. But if anyone could do it, it had to be the engineering team at Tata Motors spearheaded by Dr V Sumantran. Look at where they took the Indica to, and I am not referring to the UK and MG Rover. They have many such exciting ventures lined up but the avenues they are lining up to bring them to public notice is what is so refreshing in its appeal.

The Tata 486PL engine features underquare cylinder dimensions (bore and stroke being 86mm x 90mm) making for a 2092cc displacement. Working on a 9.6:1 compression ratio and employing the latest Bosch ECM, this 16-valve dohc unit makes 135PS (at 5630rpm) and a massive 195Nm of torque at a lowly 3750rpm. Compare these outputs to the 116PS (at 5500rpm) and the 183Nm of torque (at 3800rpm) produced by the Renault-sourced petrol engine in the Mahindra Scorpio; the 125PS (at 5600rpm) and 184Nm (at 3600rpm) credited to the Chevrolet Forester's 1994cc Subaru unit; the 142PS (at 6500rpm) and 185Nm (at 4000rpm) produced by the Honda CR-V's 1998cc VTEC engine and the 122PS (at 5300rpm) and 178Nm (at 4000rpm) produced by the 1998cc petrol engine employed in the C-class Mercedes-Benz.

Apart from the obvious performance the engine packs in, it also features even details to give a techno junkie a big fix of the right stuff. The electronically controlled sequential fuel injection is the most modern of its kind on an Indian automobile. Using a modern CDI unit which is integrated to work with the fuel injection via a Bosch ECM, makes the 486DL not only a very powerful unit with consistent performance on tap but also a near maintenance free unit. It also sports a knock sensor which automatically adjusts the ignition map to smooth out knock even before it sets in. In fact it can adjust the ignition sensing quality of fuel used and also engine loads. There is also a fuel cut off mechanism which helps save fuel during deceleration or coast down. This 16-valve dohc engine also employs self-adjusting hydraulic tappets (a feature often seen in high end premium automobiles).

As you would have deduced the Tata 486PL has the right bits on it but in the hands of J Anand it has undergone a further metamorphosis to make it right for fitment in a single-seater racing car chassis. The former racer and the man who runs a very successful engineering consultancy, Anand has modified it to a dry sump unit, so very vital to knock off the engine height in a racing car. A new oil pump has been created and the engine runs virtually the same state of tune as the production unit except for a tuned exhaust. Just with these two mods, power has gone up by another 10 to 12 PS and Anand says that if it had to be made into a pukka racing unit with hot cams, revised valve geometry, chopped cranks, and a new engine management system, one could be looking at the serious side of 200PS plus! This could place it into the realm of the 100PS per litre holy grail engine men the world over swear by.

The car which the Tata 486PL powers is a wholly Indian-built replica of a chassis which was seen earlier in the European Formula Lotus-Opel series some years ago. In fact it is very much similar to the car in which Narain Karthikeyan scored his first major success - the Formula Opel round at Donington Park in 1997. Anand reverse engineered this chassis, building all the bits himself except the disc brakes and the gearbox which is a Hewland unit. The quality of the chassis (using box-section tubes with sandwich construction) and its workmanship is evidently of a very high order. Also from a technological point of view, it has to be the most modern racing car chassis ever with its inboard suspension front and rear as also proper wings which work to generate downforce and are not for visual effect alone!

The pained look on Dr Sumantran's face when he asked us about the state of Indian motorsport was heart wrenching. It is all very good, nay it is great, to have such a modern racing car, but where will it race? We share the pain and the anguish, both for the likes of Dr Sumantran and J Anand as also for the thousands of Indian motorsport enthusiasts because the headbangers at the sporting powers are just doing their best to drive the sport deeper into the ground.

Tata-backed Narain Karthikeyan was on hand to drive the Tata F2000 single-seater and he told us that the car was a far more comprehensive racer than the FISSME or the new Esteem-powered Formula Rolon chassis. And it of course looks better than both and the manufacturer wants to commit a certain number to the sport. Can anything get better than this? Answers are needed, and positive ones at that if many other car makers and those within the component / ancillary sector can come up to help improve the Indian sporting breed.