Three-and-a-half-years after it was unveiled at the 2012 Auto Expo in Delhi, Avanti, touted as the first 'Made in India' sports car, has been launched at a starting price of Rs 35.93 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune).
The two-seater sports car from Pune-based DC Design measures 4565mm in length, 2120 in width and has an overall height of 1200mm. The Avanti weighs 1580kg and comes with 155mm of ground clearance which way more than usual sports car. Considering Indian road conditions, the increased ground clearance will help Avanti to run on any terrain without scraping the under body.
The sports car is powered by Renault sourced 2.0-litre, four cylinder, turbo petrol engine that develops 250bhp at 5500rpm and 340Nm of torque at 2750-5000rpm. The engine is mated to six speed manual transmission. The sports car runs 0-100kmph in 6 seconds and has a top speed of electronically-limited 200kmph.
"We are proud of the fact that it is indigenously designed and developed in India for Indian customers and for Indian roads. It's now a car that the young can aspire. Usually when you're young, you can't afford a sports car. But with this, we are trying to reach out to the young aspirants to be able to afford a sports car because in other countries the sports car is a huge segment by itself," said Dilip Chhabria, founder and head of DC Design during the launch in Pune on Thursday.
The rear engine, rear wheel drive Avanti runs on 20-inch wheels and all the four wheels have disc brakes. Additionally, the vehicle has ABS and Electronic Brake Distribution for safety.
The sports car is available in standard red, white and silver shades with four upholstery shades - grey, tan, black and red. The Avanti is sold at DC Design dealerships in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolakata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Raipur and Surat.