Monday, November 8, 2010

Piaggio demonstrates small car concept for India

Bajaj announced its tactics to develop a small city car with Renault and Nissan, the other two and three-wheeled manufacturers have been watching this space with interest. And currently, it's the turn of Piaggio, manufacturers of Vespa scooters and Ape three and four-wheeler commercial vehicles to jump into the fray.

At the EICMA show late last week, they illustrated a three-seat small car concept for markets such as India, Vietnam and South East Asia. Called the NT3, the concept measures not more than 2.4 metres long, building it shorter than even the 2.64 metre long Mahindra (Maini) Reva.

Using a seating layout very related to the McLaren F1 supercar, the driver and the steering wheel sit in the centre with the passengers on either side, somewhat offset to the rear.

The NT3 uses a spaceframe structure with a crash box to provide it rigidity and stay the occupants in a safety cocoon. Using a stretchy platform that can be used for diverse transport applications, the NT3 is also designed to make use of a hybrid powertrain.

No discussion concerning price tags or launch dates have yet been discussed, but we assume it will be priced a little above Rs 1 lakh and go up to Rs 2 lakh for the hybrid version with its launch in the next 18-24 months.


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