Maruti Celerio snapped undisguised

Maruti Suzuki, India’s leading car maker looks to be well on course to debut its new hatchback, the Celerio at the Auto Expo in February. The car is being spotted in India on a fairly, regular basis now. The latest catch comes from the motoring website, MotorBeam, which has spied the hatchback at the Buddh International Circuit, Noida.

Spotted in the ZXi trim, pictures suggest that production version does not look too different to the A:Wind concept, which was displayed at the Thailand International Motor Expo. Apart from the overall shape, it retains the strong character lines running along its sides. The big grille at the front has made way for a smaller one, but it continues to sport the two chrome slats that were seen on the concept. The sporty bumpers have made way for more conventional ones. A pair of fog lights has been housed in the front bumpers. The car rides on 6-spoke alloy wheels and has turning indicators integrated into its ORVMs.

The Celerio is likely to be powered by the 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, K-10 engine, found in some of Maruti’s current offerings. The car is rumoured to be getting Magneti Marelli’s Automated Manual Transmission (AMT), which allows the driver to shift gears in a conventional manual pattern, without engaging a clutch. This clutch-less transmission is expected to reduce the effort needed to drive the car in stop-go conditions.