[GTO]

An outstanding effort by a homegrown company, really!

The front end is stunning, even if the inspiration from the Ferrari 458 is too obvious. Look at the car in person and she's something else...the low, wide stance gives it an amazing personality. It's only the droopy rear that is a let-down; things are good right up to the B Pillar. But I don't like the rear 3-quarter look at all. Somehow, the design flow from front to back lacks synergy. However, if you look at the Avanti from the dead rear, it's nice in a supercar'ish way. The Avanti's dimensions are as follows : Wheelbase 2700 mm, Length 4623 mm, Width 1967 mm and Height 1213 mm. The kerb weight is 1,562 kilos while the ground clearance is 155 mm.

Power comes from a Ford-sourced EcoBoost 2.0 liter direct-injection turbo-charged petrol with 240 BHP (@ 5,500 rpm) and 366 Nm of max torque (@ 3,500 rpm) on tap. The motor has variable valve timing tech as well. It's a mid-engine RWD layout, and power is delivered through a 6 speed manual. Ford's dual clutch Automatic will be available as an option at a later stage. Rumour mills insist that a 400 BHP Honda V6 will follow too. Under the skin is a space frame chassis, while the suspension gets unequal length wishbones with coil overs. Yep, the steering is a hydraulic rack & pinion unit.

I've been told that "it's no Audi R8" on the open road, yet it's quick enough to keep you entertained. Expect a 0 - 100 of just under 7 seconds with a suspension that's sufficiently grippy. The Avanti is not intended to be a track-day tool with a super-stiff set up. Rather, the car has been tuned for everyday usage. Also, the car is electronically limited to a top speed of 250 kph.

The Avanti should cost ~24 lakhs ex-showroom; that's about the money you would pay for a D2 segment sedan in India (including the likes of the Toyota Camry). I can think of a good number of customers who'd buy this for the flash, and some others for the potentially enthusiastic drive experience. I think DC's biggest challenge is to deliver on acceptable levels of quality & reliability. My advice : Don't pack it to the gills with gizmos that will eventually fail. Rather, focus on mechanical simplicity & durability.

Nearly all power-train, electronic & suspension parts are imported. A majority of these brand-name performance parts are used in other cars, and can be bought off the shelf (or online).

Sales & service will be from 5 DC-owned outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. 4 to 5 mules are currently being tested. The final assembly with be performed at Talegaon, Pune. Deliveries start in 2013 & the planned annual production is of 300 units.

Could have done with a better name though. "Avanti" just doesn't suit a sports car IMHO.

Projector eyes & 5 LEDs:


Neat design up until the B Pillar area. It's downhill (pun intended) there after:


Bang from the rear, the Avanti looks as imposing as from the front. Very supercar'ish:


Possibly the worst angle to view this car in. Too droopy:




Single wiper unit. Some amount of storage should be available under the hood:


Piano-black finish on the roof & A-pillars:


255/35 R19 Pirellis on the front. 295/30 R19s at the rear:


330 mm ventilated disc brakes with AP Racing callipers at all 4 corners:


Air-feed to the engine bay:




Funky dual exhaust design:

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Auto Expo 2012 Section!

[Rehaan]

There's no doubting DC's ability as a businessman and a marketer.

Every so often he comes along with some news that the press goes ga-ga about. Whether its a 1-crore ambassador (Ambierod - shown 2 years ago at auto expo), or a 1-crore Nano, or other big plans. Eventually though, they fizzle away and never get mentioned again (thankfully so, in the previous two cases).

However, i hope the same does not happen for this Avanti super-car. I want to see this sold in the hundreds. Unlike the earlier DC unveils, its realistically priced too. Its a big step in the right direction for all Indian enthusiasts. Its paving the way. There were a few precursors, (eg. the Chinkara) but we saw how that turned out. I hope the Avanti can carry through with the momentum it has gained now.

Look at it from a different point of view : Its like a kit car, where DC has designed the tube chassis, exteriors and interiors. The rest is mostly bolt on stuff that is tried and tested (read : reliable). Perhaps when we have more technical details i can refine this sentence. I'd love to see pictures of the space frame too.



Seeing this car in person, i was really impressed with the gleam of the paint. High quality finish. The design of-course is still hit-or-miss in places. R8, 458, and Murcielago design "inspiration" is obvious in places -- but i'd imagine that it would not greatly offend most people, unlike some other DC creations. Think of it this way, can you name even 2 DC designs you like more than this? I doubt it


R E S P E C T -- if this actually makes it through to production at even +/- 20% of the shown price, specs and design.

cya
R

[Durango Dude]

It sure looks hot, I don't know what others may think. A Super Car with 'adequate' ground clearance of 155 mm and common man able to handle 400 bhp. What remains is: to sell in good numbers, has to be reliable, shouldn't rattle and deliver decent performance; may be then we can see a few on the roads instead of seeing it in movies.

[ottocycle]

Looks really imposing. Not bad for the first Indian super car.
Great pictures. Some more pics of interior would have been great.

Any clues on pricing?

[viggienomad]

Is that an air scoop on either side of B/C Pillars? Seems like a mis-fit.

Otherwise a nicely worked out style. Great job for the first Super Car launch by DC!

[benzinblut]

Quite an effort from DC. It looks good but the design, on the whole, doesn't appeal to me. Cant explain why!

How does DC plan to manage servicing the car? The good news however, is that it shares parts with other cars and most mechanical parts can be sourced online

Originally Posted by GTO

Attachment 866272
But I don't like the rear 3-quarter look at all

I dont like it as well. Doesn't look balanced. However, it wouldn't look so bad in black.

[devarshi84]

Why open another thread when there is already a thread?

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super-...-page-2-a.html

Both can be merged and then moved to autoexpo 2012 section too.

[N.Binesh Kumaar]

Thank You so much for the outstanding work of bringing Auto Expo 2012 updates. Since I`ve not been there, it brings me great joy to see the displays and info.

[suhaas307]

Not a bad effort by DC. While some of his designs are outlandish, some of them aren't that bad. I can pick a handful of nicely designed cars by him. But there are a few things he needs to take into consideration:

- He needs to get rid of that '90s supercar'ish interior and give it a more modern and up to-date look.

- The fit-finish, ergonomics and refinement of the car needs to be given a lot of importance. A shoddy car will only mean sloppy work.

- This particular design is so-so. He should it give it a re-look. While from some angles it looks great, from some, it doesn't. I see inspiration in design borrowed from many cars. The 458 is one, and bits of Lamborghini too. There is one particular angle that makes the rear over-hang look massive, thus giving it a very granny's-butt-out look, which is never appealing (apologies).

Anyway, I have a few queries.

- What car is this based on, exactly? I ask, because DC never really starts from scratch. He always starts his work on a base/platform.

- The moment I saw this car and its wheels, I knew they looked similar to another set of wheels from another brand. Porsche! Yes, the 997 Turbo 911, the Panamera, and even Cayenne models came shod with these wheels. Are they the same? (EDIT: both are 19")

[designersf]

Great attempt by DC. Sports a good profile. Its like the front and rear were designed by two different people. There doesn't seem to be any connection between them at all. Above that, the interiors look spartan although the LCD screen for the instruments is a step in the right direction.

As rightly pointed out by GTO, DC should ensure they get the basics right - mechanicals, reliability and service support. 210bhp should satisfy most while those interested in more pep will get the V6. I hope this is a successful vehicle.

I expect more from local firms like DC & SAN Motors (Add Tata & Mahindra as well). They are the only ones who can bring affordable cars (one example is the XUV5OO) which are classy. All international manufacturers will not have any chance unless they assemble their sports cars and supercars in India (which is totally unlikely).

[DicKy]

Though can't find any fluidity in the design giving a 100 marks to DC to take the initiative.
Even if low quality more and more ventures like this should come,not saying that they should do away with quality. There are only a handful of Indian manufacturers with a handful of models. Nothing really exciting or diverse. Even if using older platforms from other companies newer initiatives like this should be encouraged.

[HOTROD]

The front looks promising, sharp, but the back looks out of proportion , starts of with curves and way too many lines , and the tail lights looks very bad indeed. For India's first sports car, the concept tata aria looked better.

[needforspeed88]

First DC car , i can say i have enjoyed looking at . Build quality looks superb for the price and has a great font-end design. Hate to admit it but around 24 lakhs is not too bad..

[LDJ]

Good initiative from DC.

Many here say it got the inspiration from F458 but I guess it got its front-end from none other than The Joker (Dark Knight) ! The very first pic has a very strong resemblance to the Joker face with that wide grin

I see the name Avanti spelled out in part english & part hindi. Could it be an indication that the front end & back don't gel together. They look as if taken from two different cars and pasted together. Since this is not a production model maybe DC could get this ironed out.

The interiors looks bland compared to the glaring exterior. This also needs to be re-looked at.

Overall kudos to him for thinking out of the box!