While Tata Motors has stopped production of the Nano at its Sanand plant in Gujarat for 35-40 days, the R&D team continues work to develop the upcoming version of the small car that will be launched in the coming months. Our reader Azeem Parker spotted one such example of the Nano with the F-Tronic automatic gearbox on test in Chiplun, Maharashtra. Showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo with the F-Tronic AMT gearbox, the Nano will take up the title of India’s most affordable automatic, which currently is held by the Maruti Suzuki Celerio.
The Nano test mule lost some camouflage compared to the earlier test vehicles we spotted sometime back. The car looks largely the same as the outgoing version, but gets heavily reworked front bumpers and gets a redesigned bumper and a functional tail gate at the rear. The Nano spotted was also carrying certain test equipment that was connected to the rear wheels as seen in the image.
From what we see, the Tata Nano’s cabin does not get any new updates on the F-Tronic automatic version. The interiors are done up in dual tone black-beige theme colour shades that extends to the upholstery as well. The gear lever is now replaced by the AMT unit as shown on the concept model at the Auto Expo. The Nano F-Tronic automatic will be launched in the country next year and will be the new top-end variant in the product’s line-up.
Earlier reports also suggested that Tata Motors is working on turbocharged and electric versions of the Nano. The diesel variant which was in the works for a long time was ditched recently after the market favoured towards petrol once again. Currently, the company has the Nano Twist Active variant in the pipeline that will be launched by the end of this calendar year and gets updated exteriors along with a functional tail gate.
