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Season’s show stoppers
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The Auto Expo-08 displayed the best vehicles and automobile technologies from across the world
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STAR ATTRACTIONS BMW M3, Audi A4 and Renault eco2 (below) that were part of the display at the expo
The ninth Auto Expo held recently in Delhi was the biggest and best ever with several cars and technologies unveiled for the first time. The Indian car market has experienced an onslaught of models that were not available in the country earlier but a
re now being produced locally. One of the biggest attractions in this year’s show was definitely the Tata one-lakh car, which has generated a lot of interest, not to mention speculation both within the industry and among customers. Listed below are some of the show’s biggest stars and attractions.
Audi
At the expo, Audi displayed its brand new A4 compact executive saloon. This new car has a lot more space and better ride and handling. And what’s more, it looks stunning. But it won’t be in showrooms until the middle of this year. Also on display were the A6, the mildly face-lifted A8 and the new TT. The biggest attraction at this stall was the space-age, diesel-powered R10 racing car, a clear indication of how much these motors have progressed in recent years.
BMW
The new V8-powered 414bhp M3 was an absolute beauty with a sculpted bonnet, massive wheel arches and an aggressive nose. The good news is that BMW is planning to introduce the M3 in India, but for a whopping Rs. 80 lakh. Not to be left out are the locally-assembled 3 and 5-Series cars, which form the core of BMW’s Indian business. The new X5 SUV and 7-series saloon were also featured at the stall.
Tata Motors
The most talked about car, the Tata 1-lakh car, the Nano, was finally unveiled at the Auto Expo, It is said to be the cheapest car in the world. Also displayed at the Tata stall were the new Tata Sumo and the X1 or the next-gen Indica.
General Motors
The best of American cutting-edge style and panache were found at the GM stall with exhibits that included the Hummer H3 and the Cadillac CTS. The H3 has been recently launched with a right-hand drive and there are plans to launch it in India as well. The CTS is Cadillac’s take on a luxury car for a younger buyer, and boasts features such as an 8-speaker Bose music system with a 40GB hard drive, mood lighting on the insides and a 304bhp V6 engine. Also on display and showing itself to the Indian public for the first time was GM’s hydrogen-powered Sequel; the third in a line of GM fuel-cell concept vehicles, following the Autonomy and Hy-wire vehicles from a few years ago. And if one concept wasn’t enough, GM showcased another in the form of the T2X crossover concept. The compact SUV with coupe design cues is strongly tipped to form the basis of a future production model.
Maruti-Suzuki
Maruti-Suzuki displayed the A-Star concept and this vehicle is quite important for the company. It is powered by an all-aluminium 1.0-litre engine and is slated to go into production at Maruti’s Manesar plant near Gurgaon by October 2008. The Splash; claimed to be the spiritual successor to the Wagon R; was also featured at the expo. The Maruti range, model-for-model, was on display, and embellishing the stall was the SX4 rally car. Not the SX4 as we know it, but the ‘original’ two-box design. The nose is unmistakably SX4 and the WRC version boasts a hotted-up 2.0-litre turbocharged engine boasting 300bhp.
Mahindra/Renault
Mahindra and Renault shared one large pavilion. The central theme of the shared area was the separate CNG and LPG-fuelled concepts based on the Logan. Then there were the MCV station-wagon, Renault R27 Formula 1 car, the Twingo and the very modern Laguna Sedan. Also on display was the eco2 concept, which emits less than 140g of CO2 per kilometre travelled.
Bajaj
Bajaj has signed a MoU with Renault and is working on a small car. The car was shown as a design study at the expo. Clearly, the two-wheeler giant is now in want of a piece of the four-wheeler market as well. Alsotheir full portfolio of motorcycles, including the recently-launched Avenger 200 DTS-i, hot-selling 125cc XCD and the flagship Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi to fill up the Bajaj display. In addition to the above, companies such as Fiat, HM-Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Volkswagen also exhibited their products.
Therefore, whether or not one needed a new car, it was an experience checking out the best of the automobiles.
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