It was the year 2012 and DC Design unveiled the made in India prototype of a supercar called the Avanti at the 11th Auto Expo. The car received rave reviews and was also shunned by the critics for not being Indian in design or for just being heavily inspired. We ourselves thought more of it as confused lad who just couldn’t decide. Nonetheless, what it did offer was a bit of everything and that did appeal to many at a lucrative price point of Rs. 25 lakhs. Fast forward to 2014 and here we are with the production version of the made in India sports car that was showcased at the 12th Auto Expo.
To begin with, the car retains the silhouette from the prototype that was showcased earlier; albeit it does get some welcome changes. The dipping nose design has been retained and so is the trapezoidal shaped air-intake in the front bumper. The major change comes with the housing of the fog lamps integrated below the headlight unit and the subtle update to the horizontal LED light design. The sharper light unit for the turn indicators is now wider than before and assimilate well as a whole unit. The side profile on the other hand gets all the drama needed for a sports car. DC has maintained the curves with the pronounced wheel arches and a high shoulder line that starts from the front headlights till the rear, giving the car a more aerodynamic shape and reducing drag. The side air-intake also gets clever creases on the lower section, for the air to be pushed towards the in-take. The ORVMs get integrated indicators.
Moving to the back, the rear profile is where you can see the designers have made some noticeable changes. Even though the stout rear was never appreciated, the car gets subtle updates that surely wear off the bulk. The rear bumper now gets a diffuser, chrome tipped triangular exhausts and reflectors. The trapezoid shaped rear grille has been replaced with a more up-to-date hexagonal shaped grille. Another major change is the shape of the tail lights. The one piece tail light that used to run end-to-end has now been replaced with black plastic cladding in between and two separate boomer rang shaped tail light units replacing the symmetrical ones. The mid-engined sports car also gets air intakes at the top on both sides, while the air vents for the engine at the back are done up in a glossy black finish and sport brake lights. The fuel tank lid has also been moved from the left to the right side of the car.
Even though the interiors weren’t revealed, but from what we could make out; the car gets a much better layout and quality levels than the prototype did. The dashboard, door trims are done up in cross stitched leather, while leather wrapped sports seats were visible. The glossy black roof has been carried forward and somehow gels with every colour the car has been showcased with. We expect DC to offer customization options with the interiors, when the car does go into production.
Coming to the powertrain, the Avanti is powered by a Ford sourced 2000cc in-line 4-cylinder, direct injection and VVT – Turbo charged engine. The motor is capable of producing 240 BHP at 5500 RPM and 366 Nm of torque at 3500 RPM and is mated to 6-speed automatic transmission. 0-100 km/hr comes up in under 7 seconds, and the car weighs 1562 kgs. The car rides on 19-inch tyres, while the stopping power comes from 330 mm ventilated discs, both front and rear.
DC Design will soon start production of the Avanti at their new plant being constructed in Gujarat with an annual capacity of 3500 units, for now the initial models will be made at their workshop in Pune. The Avanti is expected to be launched in the first half of 2014 itself in the Rs. 25-30 lakhs price segment.
