The advent of Formula 1 into India has brought in more interest towards owning sports cars. Sighting this golden opportunity, few existing niche indigenous car makers are already formulating plans on developing sports cars, roadsters and coupes. One such manufacturer is San Motors which is based in Goa. The company has been in the Indian auto market making 2 seater convertibles since as early as 2000. This 2 door 2 seater model, called the San Storm is powered by a 1.2 litre Renault sourced engine while the body panels and other components are made in-house. The company is now planning on developing a much more powerful version of the Storm for the Indian market sensing the increased of the buyers. The company is also having plans on expanding its dealership network to increase its penetration in the Indian auto market.
Other such manufacturers like Jayem Automotive and Chinkara Motors are also on the same look out for market. Jayem Automotive which is based out of Coimbatore is into different motorsport events and now is in talks with a tie-up with the racing car maker Dallara for producing sports cars in India. The company is into discussions with the firm for designing and manufacturing a range of different motor racing formulas. Chinkara Motors, based out of Mumbai is working on the convept of a 2 seater roadster for the Indian market. Currently the company sells its 2 seater roadster based on the Lotus Super7 in India at a price of Rs. 26 lakhs. Shama Bothe, the owner of Chinkara Motors comments that crafting and selling such cars in more a passion than a mainstream business.
Source – Zigwheels