Tata Nano has been a favorite topic for the auto community ever since Mr. Ratan Tata made announcement of launching a car priced at a tag of Rs 1 Lakh. We have been discussing about various possibilities that Tata might adopt with Nano to boost its sales and give a turf to the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd which is enjoying a leadership position on charts with its hatchbacks. If rumors are to be believed, than Tata has been seen testing a diesel variant of Nano along with a CNG/LPG variant. The latest in the series is that Tata has started testing of Tata Nano 800, a more powerful version of Nano with an 800cc engine in Maharashtra.
Our fellow bloggers at Oncars.in have got us a glimpse of the test mule of Nano with an 800cc engine while testing in Maharashtra. The car seen was having a data logging system which gives us a hint of a bigger engine. Tata might have to rework on suspension and tyre size for the Nano with an 800 cc engine. Not only this, Oncars.in also hinted of a wider track for the car which is necessary to accommodate a bigger cooling system and the company might have to think on relocation of the radiator. Tata might have also addressed the problems like a fixed rear hatch and under the bonnet fuel tank that is there in the existing models.
Tata struggled initially to reap the fruits of Nano in terms of sales, but couldn’t due to poor branding and the reports of initial Nano catching fires. Tata realized their fault and worked extensively at a later phase on the branding which gave them some good results in sales and Nano clocked a sales figure of around 7000 units in the festive month of October-November 2012. Tata is still not able to get the consistent sales for Nano but with 800cc engine, things might change the scenario and Tata may give a strong competition to Alto 800 and Eon which are bringing fortunes for India’s two top selling brands.
Image credits and source- OnCars.in
