Introducing the DC Avanti
DC Avanti: Pasta Vindalu
As is the case with China, in India, too, these are boom times. One expression of the optimism is ‘India’s first ever super car’… the DC Avanti. (Florian Maier , 19.01.2012)
Not that hot
An Indian super car? Discerning sheikhs, those who believe that nothing can match ‘made in Germany’ and many others will probably turn up their noses… but the DC Avanti is not for them. It is perhaps for those who might buy a Fisker Karma or anything extravagant and unusual on two or four wheels.
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- The look of the sports car is certainly that of a pedigree speedster…
The overall look of the Avanti shows immediately where the manufacturer has sought design inspiration. The gaping air intake, the angled headlight clusters, the rounded rear end with the allure of a jet fighter… the impression is of a crude mix of Ferrari 458 Italia and various Lamborghini modelswith an added touch of Bertone exoticism. The car is about the right size… 4.62 metres long, 1.97 metres wide and only 1.21 metres high, with a wheel-base measuring 2.7 metres. And the Indian car maker is quite open about the design direction that has been followed, that taken by “Bertone, Ghia, Pininfarina and Stola, to name just four”.
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- …although the performance does not quite match. There are thoughts of an alternative 400 horsepower engine from Honda, however.
Underpowered
In respect of the motorization there must be doubts about the ‘super car’ claim… at least when the term is understood as it is in Europe. The two-litre turbo boosted four-cylinder engine comes from Ford and with its output of 243 horsepower and 635 Nm of torque it is hardly going to impress drivers from the ‘old continent’. But the car does look quick, and the Avanti can indeed shoot to a hundred kilometres an hour in under seven seconds. The top speed is limited at 250. The mid-motored sports machine has a manual six-speed gearbox also sourced from Ford and a dual-clutching transmission is on offer as an option.
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- The goal is to sell 300 units in a first year, rising slowly to an annual production of three thousand. Export to is not currently planned.
Eroticized motoring
The speedster from the sub-continent is supposed to be fast… “Agile, quick and ultra-responsive, the Avanti promises performance and visual erotica...” Well, the promise does take the form of a decent sized rims-and-rubber combo… 8.5 and 11x19 inch alloys… not in themselves that spectacular… are fitted with 255/35 and 295/30-19 tyres fore and aft respectively. In 2013 the first DC Avanti models should be delivered to buyers and the maker is confident that an annual volume of 300 units is realistic… and of course that could be more.
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