DC Design, a Pune-based automobile design centre, promises to bring the country’s indigenous supercar to the 2012 Auto Expo. It is expected that Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan will pull the covers off the car at the mega event. Dilip Chhabria, one of the most prominent automobile designers of India, is the promoter of the DY Patil-DC Center for Automotive Design, which has taken this initiative to design ‘India’s own supercar’.
Designed and developed from the scratch by the automobile design house, the supercar will be assembled at the Pune centre of the firm, though it will be a low-volume project. The manufacturer will start delivering the vehicle by the end of 2013, after the cars have undergone the homologation process.
Regarding the move, Dilip Chhabria said, “With this car, we are making the transformation from a design house to a production house.” On the car, he commented, “It will offer the looks, feel, dimensions, quality and fit and finish comparable to supercars from Lamborghini and Ferrari, minus the horsepower.”
Not many details about the supercar are available presently, though a few things about the engine have been revealed. DC Design has taken the hint from European manufacturers and made a mid-engined car, with the engine being placed between the axles, behind the driver. The car is expected to be assimilated with a V6 petrol engine that would produce more than 400 hp of power. DC Design has procured the engine from Honda and used a turbocharged version to give the car more power.
The upcoming supercar will have kerb weight of 1560 kg, thus weighing close to the Eurpoean supercars. Talking about dimensions, the Indian supercar will be similar to Lamborghini Murcielago or Aventador in terms of measurements.
DC Design aims to manufacture a total of 300 units initially and then bolster production, taking it up to 3000 vehicles. According to Chhabria, the company wants to keep its price tag to a minimum, within the range of Rs. 30 lacs on-road, making it one of the cheapest supercars in the world.
About the name of the car, he said that it was supposed to be christened Buddh, inspired by India’s Formula One Circuit. However, the initial response to that name was not good and the design house is looking for a new name presently.
