Tata Zest Petrol AMT Spied Testing for First Time; Launch, Feature Details

A new prototype for what is shaping up to be the petrol AMT of Tata Motor's Zest has been spied in the country for the first time.

The folks at Rushlane have caught on camera what might be the Zest petrol AMT while it was being tested on the outskirts of Pune. As some of us know far too well that Tata launched its Zest sedan in India on 12 August and Indian auto lovers are really loving the car.

Though the latest prototype was heavily camouflaged, the original publisher of the images managed to confirm from the driver that the prototype is the petrol AMT variant of Zest. It could be true as Tata indicated petrol AMT at the launch of Zest.

As we already know, Tata Zest, which made its India debut a few months back is offered in both petrol and diesel engine options, however, the Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) is now available only on Zest XMA diesel model. Now it looks like Tata is preparing something new for the Indian auto enthusiasts.

While the new Zest might accommodate change in its transmission, everything else including the styling and features of Petrol AMT Zest will be the same as that of the current model. Zest, a car based on Tata Motors' "DesigNext, DriveNext, ConnectNext" philosophy has garnered over 10,000 bookings for Zest in the country within days of its launch and the vehicle currently enjoys a waiting period up to four months.

Under the hood, the petrol model of Zest packs turbocharged 1.2-litre Revotron engine, which is tuned to produce a 90PS (88.73bhp) of power and 140nm of torque, while the diesel Zest model comes with 1.3-litre Multijet motor, that is capable of churning out 88.8bhp of power and 200nm torque.

In India, Tata Zest competes with the likes of Maruti Dzire, Hyundai Xcent and Honda Amaze. We do not have even the slightest idea of when Tata will launch its new Zest petrol AMT; however reports indicate an imminent launch.