The well known Indian automotive design house, DC Design has unveiled its supercar called the Avanti. According to reports, the car has been named after the Studbaker Avanti that appeared in Tintin comics. The idea behind the Avanti, which means 'forward' in Italian, is to make affordable supercars and the car is expected to be priced at Rs 30 lakh, it was reported.
The car was unveiled by Amitabh Bachchan and will initially come powered by a 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine from Ford, and later a turbo V6 Honda engine. The 4-cylinder turbo petrol will make 265 hp, while the V6 engine will make 400 hp.
The Avanti is expected to do a sub-seven second zero to hundred timing. These engines are mated to a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission system. According to the reports, the engines are being tuned in the UK and will be shipped to India in crates where they will be installed the cars. Much like the engines, most of the other components that go into the cars will also be imported into the country. However, the body and interiors are being manufactured at DC's Talegaon plant in Pune. The body shell is made of aluminium, while the body panels are made of GRP.
It was also reported that DC Design is also setting up showrooms across the country in order to sell the Avanti Supercar. The first of these showrooms will be launched in Hyderabad. The showrooms will also stock other DC products. The 1560 kg Avanti looks more along the lines of a Lotus Evora, rather than a full-fledged Ferrari 458-like supercar. DC Design aims on manufacturing 200 cars a year, which means it would produce one car every two days. They also have plans to slowly expand that number to 2000 cars annually, according to reports.
Speaking at the launch of the project very dear to his heart (and which he had nurtured for so many years), Dilip Chhabria, the guiding tour-de-force at DC Design said, "We are extremely ecstatic to present the DC Avanti and it is a manifestation of not just the burgeoning interest in high end sports cars but also as a calling card for our own capabilities which have now progressed from mere styling in the early days to full prototyping and bespoke one-off manufacturing. Every country which has written its name in the pantheon of automobile manufacturing has invariably distinguished itself with sports cars by its own nationals and I thought that India rightly needs to be in this exclusive club."
"The Indian market for high end automobiles is on a steep uphill curve as witnessed year-on-year and our focus is at the top end of this rarified niche. The design is completely our very own as is the engineering and also the production process. Type approval and on-road tests would follow soon and we intend to simultaneously set up an all new facility at Talegaon near Pune to build this vehicle," said Dilip.
"We intend to produce 300 units of the Avanti in 2013-2014 and if all goes well we could ramp up production to go into four figures per annum. Till now DC Design was noted for its design and customization but then we added complete engineering and prototyping to our roster of services and working for the world's biggest names helped us understand and add to our expertise," added Dilip.
Specifications of the car:
Engine
Type: 2.0L Four Cylinder
Maximum power: 240 BHP @ 5500 RPM
Maximum Torque: 270lb/ft of torque @3500 RPM
Transmission: MMT6 6speed
Turbocharged engine with direct injection and VVT DOHC Four valves per cylinder
Chassis
Tubular space frame
Jig built
TIG welded
Suspension
Unequal length double wishbones
Coil cover shock absorbers
Steering and Brakes
Rack and pinion
330 mm ventilated discs (Front and Rear) AP racing calipers Wheels
Front rim size - 8.5J-19
Tyres - 255/35 19" x 8.5 J
Track - 1680 mm
Rear Rim size - 11J-19
Tyres - 295/30 19" x 11 J
Track - 1660 mm
Dimensions
Wheelbase - 2700 mm
Length - 4623 mm
Width - 1967 mm
Height - 1213 mm
Front Over hang - 993 mm
Rear Over hang - 930 mm
Ground clearance - 155 mm
Dry kerb weight - 1562 kgs
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