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DC Design Avanti: India’s first sports car at New Delhi show

The unveiling of the DC Design Avanti at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo in India marks an exciting step forward for the rapidly expanding automotive manufacturing nation.


Unlike previous concepts and show cars from DC Design, the Avanti will go into production, putting it on track to become India’s first ever home-grown sports car.

DC Design founder Dilip Chhabria says the company plans to make 300 vehicles in 2013 and 2014, with the first deliveries to take place in the final quarter of next year. If demand for the vehicle is high, Chhabria says the annual production number could reach four figures from 2015.

“Every country which has written its name in the pantheon of automobile manufacturing has invariably distinguished itself with sports cars by its own nationals and I thought that India rightly needs to be in this exclusive club,” he said.

“The Avanti is an ongoing culmination of all that we have learnt and we intend to give a sports car to a select new emerging breed of car buyers who value good taste without compromising on performance and who don't need to spend a fortune on making the adrenaline flow.”

At 4623mm long (2700mm wheelbase), 1967mm wide, 1213mm tall, and weighing 1562kg, the Avanti is fractionally larger – but around 380kg heavier – than the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ twins.

DC admits it has not tried to reinvent the wheel with the Avanti. While it is fully responsible for the “low-slung … animalistic” styling, the underpinnings and mechanics have been borrowed from more qualified allies.

Powering the Avanti is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine, similar to the one destined for Australia’s Ford Falcon EcoBoost in April. The mid-mounted direct injection turbocharged petrol engine produces 179kW of power and 366Nm of torque, while also promising tidy fuel consumption. The six-speed manual and dual-clutch transmissions options also come from the Ford of Europe parts bin.

DC Design says the Avanti will have an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h, and while it hasn’t revealed the 0-100km/h sprint time yet, it says the new sports car will be “agile, quick and ultra-responsive”.

Available to order from the conclusion of the New Delhi expo, the DC Design Avanti will be priced from three million Indian rupees ($55,600).

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