Preference for diesel powered cars is rising in India rapidly and the manufacturers are struggling hard to come up with different sizes of diesel powerplants. In spite of having frugal petrol engines returning big fuel efficiency, buyers are looking for diesel engines on entry level cars like the Tata Nano. We have been noticing increasing numbers of camouflaged diesel prototypes of the Nano on tests lately and Tata Motors is likely to launch the Nano diesel during the year 2014 with high expectations of big volumes from the Nano. Recently, details on the diesel engine powering the Nano have emerged on the interweb.
The Tata Nano diesel will get powered by a two-cylinder 800cc turbocharged diesel engine with the turbocharger sourced from Garrett. The two-cylinder 800cc diesel engine without a turbocharger currently powers the Tata Ace Dicor and the turbo diesel engine with common rail direct injection technology will power the Nano diesel in a higher state of tune. The 800cc turbo diesel engine will produce a maximum power of 40 HP at 4000 RPM while the peak torque is likely to be around 60 Nm, which will be enough for the Nano to ferry around town without worrying about the fuel efficiency.
The Tata Nano with a diesel heart will be the most fuel efficient car in India with an expected fuel economy of around 30 km/l. It will be the most affordable diesel powered car too in India with an expected premium price of around Rs. 75,000/- over the petrol powered Nano. The manufacturer is currently struggling for an image makeover of the Nano to increase its sales. There are many versions planned for the Nano before launching the diesel variant. The Nano will get a facelift this year along with a CNG equipped version to lure customers.
