Tatas 1lakh car ...... Tata Nano

The Tata Rs 1-lakh car is here! And it's called the Nano!
Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata on Thursday unveiled the Tata Nano at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi.

Tata Nano Maruti 800

Ex.Showroom(Rs lakh) -- 1.00 ------ 1.96

Mileage Km/litre ---------- 20 ------ 18

Engine Capacity ----------- 623 ------ 796

Ground Clearance(mm) -- 180 ------ 170

Nature of Tyres ----------- 4+1 Tubeless --- 4+1 With Tube

Dimensions (L/H/W in M) -- 3.1/1.6/1.5 -- 3.3/1.4/1.4

Engine Mount -------------- Rear ----- Front



Details of the Nano:

Ratan Tata, while unveiling the Nano, said: "The car will meet all current safety norms and all emission criteria. The pollution it will cause will be lower than 2-wheelers."
The car, he said, is smaller than a Maruti 800, but has 21 per cent more volume or space inside than the 800. He said that the dealer price of the car will be Rs 1 lakh, plus value-added tax (VAT) plus transport charges.
The car's dashboard features just a speedometer, fuel gauge, and oil light. The car does not have reclining seats or radio. The shock absorbers are basic.
It will sport a 30-litre fuel tank and 4-speed manual gearshift. One of Nano's three versions will come with air conditioning, but will have no power steering. It will have front disk and rear drum brakes. The company claims mileage of 23 km per litre.
The Nano, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.

Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas.

Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.
When launched, the car will be available in three versions. All versions will offer a wide range of body colours, and other accessories so that the car can be customised to an individual's preferences.
Nano has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 624 cc, 33 bhp, multi-point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft.
The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system.
Nano's safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements. With an all sheet-metal body, it has a strong passenger compartment, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Tubeless tyres further enhance safety.

Technical specifications:

Length: 3.1 m
Width: 1.5 m
Height: 1.6 m
To seat: 4
Engine: 643cc, 2-cylinder, all-aluminum
Power: 33 BHP
Position: Engine, battery at rear end
Boot: In front
Fuel: Petrol
Fuel injection: MPFI
Fuel consumption: 20 kmpl
AC: Only in deluxe version
Music system: No
Passenger side mirror: No
Power steering: No
ABS/airbags: No
Price: $2500 at dealer + VAT + transport cost. Base version approximate on-road price: $3000
Tyres: Tubeless tyres
Body: All-steel
Safety features: Crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, 2 A-Pillars
Suspension: Independent front and rear


The People's Car's tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements. In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers being manufactured in India today.
The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide emissions, thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint.
The Nano is a development, which signifies a first for the global automobile industry, as it brings the comfort and safety of a car within the reach of thousands of families.
Tata said, "I observed families riding on two-wheelers -- the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family."
"Tata Motors' engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People's Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility," he added.

Nano, the world's cheapest car, costs almost half of the cheapest car currently available anywhere in the world. ''Since, a promise is a promise the standard dealer version will cost Rs 1 lakh,'' said Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata. He informed that the car is 8 per cent smaller bumper to bumper, than the Maruti800 but at the same time 21 per cent larger in its interiors and can sit up to four people. Dispelling myths that the car was not safe enough Tata said, 'The car has passed the full-frontal crash and the side impact crash''. He also side stepped emission concerns and said the car will meet Euro IV norms.

While critics had been sceptical throughout about the car meeting safety and emission norms, coming as it is at that price, Tata said he was happy to announce that Nano meets all norms as would a modern car.

Alluding to fears expressed by environmentalist R K Pachauri and green activist Sunita Narain that the car at that price would add more vehicles on the road leading to higher vehicular pollution, Tata said the 624 cc, 33 HP petrol engine meets Bharat Stage-III emission norms and can also meet the Euro 4 norms.

"Pachauri will not have a nightmare and Sunita Narain can also sleep," he quipped, while recalling that some people had suggested that the car should be called 'Pachauri' and some others said that it should be named 'Mamta' ? probably referring to the position TMC leader Mamta Banerjee had taken against the setting up of the small-car project at Singur in West Bengal. Commenting on the safety standard, he said the car has gone through a full frontal crash test as per norms.

The Nano will come in three variants -- standard and two deluxe models with AC. The standard car would be available for Rs 1 lakh (ex-showroom), while VAT and transportation costs are extra.

The Nano is expected to be commerically launched in the second half of 2008. News reports say that Tata Motors hopes to sell 500,000 units of the car, almost four times the number of Indicas it sells. Tata plans to focus on a market segment hitherto untapped.
Not since the launch of the Maruti 800 in 1983 has any car gripped the imagination of a nation and indeed car manufacturers the world over so intensely. If commercially successful, the Tata Nano can alter the passenger car market in India, and perhaps the world, beyond description.