Tata Motors displays Formula racing and performance Indica prototypes at Mumbai Performance Show
December 1, 2005

Tata Motors today unveiled a formula racing and a 165 PS performance Indica prototype at the Performance Show 2005, being held at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai from December 1 to December 4.

The Formula racing prototype has a Tata 486 (petrol, dual overhead camshaft) 2.1 litre 16-valve MPFI (multipoint fuel injection) engine, with a power output of 165 PS at 6000 rpm. With a torque of 205 NM at 4000 rpm, it delivers 0-100 acceleration in just 4 seconds, and can hit a top speed of 260 kmph.

The performance Indica prototype has a new development petrol engine with a power output of 165 PS at 6900 rpm. With a torque of 180 NM at 4500 rpm, it delivers 0-100 acceleration in 7.5 seconds flat, and can hit a top speed of 220 kmph.

Both the cars on display are running prototypes and while there are no immediate plans for commercial production, they are indicative of the effort being undertaken within the company to build more performance-oriented sporting cars. The company was one of the key sponsors, along with the Tata Group, of Narain Karthikeyan's participation in Formula One racing this year, the first ever by an Indian.

Tata Motors has been regularly displaying concept cars at the auto shows of Geneva and New Delhi. Among them have been the Aria, the Aria Coupe, Indiva and the X-over.

Tata Motors, India's second largest passenger vehicle player in the domestic market, crossed the significant milestone of the one million sales mark (including exports) this October, since the first passenger car — the Tata Sierra — was rolled out in 1991. Of the one million cars sold in the last 14 years, about 936,000 cars have been sold in India and over 64,000 in various countries abroad. Of them, over half a million were Indicas, over 300,000 Sumos, close to 100,000 Indigos and about 40,000 Safaris.

Starting with the Tata Sierra and the Tata Estate in 1991-92, the company launched Sumo in 1994, Indica (India's first fully indigenous car) and Tata Safari (India's first thoroughbred sports utility vehicle) in 1998, the Tata Indigo in 2002 and the Indigo Marina in 2004. All the five models currently in the company's product portfolio have defined new segments on launch, and continue to be in leading positions in their respective segments.

Including commercial vehicles, over three million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads. The company's commercial and passenger vehicles are already being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia and Australia.