Mahindra Quanto with a new engine spotted testing near Chennai

Crossovers and Utility Vehicles might be ruling the roost in India of late, but there is one model that failed to create an impact. Forget about the Premier Rio, we are referring to the Quanto, a rare flop from Mahindra amidst a string of successful models from the Indian manufacturer. Though the formula of butch looks, high ground clearance, adequate space for five passengers with the option for seating two additional passengers when needed, a tractable and fuel-efficient diesel engine and feature-loaded interiors seem good, the Quanto isn't selling as well as Mahindra expected it to.

Nevertheless, Mahindra isn't letting the Quanto go off the radar just yet. This test vehicle spotted in the Chennai-Trichy highway, a few kilometers away from Mahindra's R&D Center in the outskirts of Chennai, hints that the work on the Quanto is still on. Except for the absence of spare wheel at the rear and the presence of cheesy body graphics in profile, this Quanto, codenamed 'X-284', seemed to have nothing new at first. But, there was one little nugget that got us excited. Though not clearly visible in these spy-shots, this Quanto had "Turbo" stickers prominently placed in the front fenders. Its a known fact that Mahindra is in the process of developing two new gasoline engines, one with three cylinders and another with four, to be used in future models. Given that almost every other diesel engine in the market, including Mahindra's own mills, is turbocharged, there is no necessity to brag about it. What could this be then?

Is Mahindra working on an all-new, small-displacement, gasoline engine that could come with a turbocharger to boost power without compromising fuel efficiency? With Volkswagen's 'TSI' and Ford's 'EcoBoost' engines ensuring that turbocharged gasoline engines remain a popular choice in India and given Mahindra's recent penchant for new technology, we have every reason to believe that this Quanto is indeed testing a new gasoline turbocharged engine under its hood. Apart from the Quanto, we expect this new engine to power a host of new Mahindra models including the compact SUV that's expected to take on the Ford Ecosport.

Mahindra Scorpio Facelift caught testing near Chennai

The Scorpio has been a massive success for Mahindra and is, in fact, the coming-of-age model of the Indian utility-vehicle manufacturer. Until the Scorpio came along in 2002, Mahindra’s rise to fame has been the licensed old-school Jeeps they had been building for ages. Pitted against the then-popular midsize sedans like the Honda City, Mitsubishi Lancer, Hyundai Accent and Ford Ikon, the Scorpio was able to successfully prove its credentials and soon became the largest-selling Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in India, handsomely outselling the Tata Safari. Once it reached the top, the Scorpio stayed there for a full decade before finally losing out to newer crossovers like the Renault Duster and Ford Ecosport.

Unlike the Duster and Ecosport that are car-based crossovers, the Scorpio is a true-blue, body-on-frame SUV that can deal with rock and sand as well as it does on our highways. But the reality is that a significant chunk of people are cross-shopping between these models, thus affecting Scorpio's prospects. With the Nissan Terrano starting on a high note and competition from Maruti-Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda looming large, the Scorpio’s position is now under threat.

Though Mahindra is said to be working on the next-generation Scorpio for quite some time now, it is not expected to be launched until 2015 atleast. To plug the gap, Mahindra is now working on a facelift that will keep the Scorpio fresh and up to date until the new model takes over. This test vehicle, spotted in the outskirts of Chennai in a location that’s not far off from Mahindra’s R&D Center, proves that work on the Scorpio facelift is progressing at a brisk pace.

Going by the swirl camouflage on the test car, it looks like the front end is going for a substantial makeover. That means the radiator grille, headlights and the bumper are in for a change. The rest of the body sees minimal changes, with the tailgate, front fenders and the alloy wheels being the only parts that seem to be getting a nip and tuck. The interiors were partially masked too, making us believe that the face-lifted Scorpio will sport better interiors than the current model. No mechanical changes are expected in the Scorpio facelift and that includes the engine and transmission options too. The 2.2-liter mHawk diesel engine that powers all but the base variant and the 2.5-liter m2DICR engine that does duty only in the base EX variant are expected to be carried over to the facelift as well.

Despite the advent of newer and fresher SUVs and wannabe SUVs in the market, the Scorpio is still going great and is nary showing a hint of restrain when it comes to sales figures. This facelift is only going to help Mahindra sustain the momentum and keep the interest in the model ticking until its successor comes along.

Honda unveils the all-new City in India

Honda City needs no introduction in India. Ever since its launch, the City has been very popular and a consistent best-seller in our market that’s widely considered ‘tough-to-crack’. It’s sharp styling, the smooth, powerful and efficient engine with the now-iconic “i-VTEC” technology and the solid reliability, not to discount the premium image that the ‘H’ logo carries, have earned the City legions of fans in India. Fifteen years, six facelifts and three generation changes later, it’s now time for an all-new City to take over.

As if to signify the importance of our market, Honda chose India for the global unveiling of the fourth-generation City. Unlike the three earlier generations which were all revolutionary compared to their predecessors, the new City is more of an evolution of the previous model. Blame it on the design of the existing City that, despite its age, still looks sufficiently chic and modern.

Adopting Honda’s new striking ‘H’ design philosophy, the new City looks much sharper and sleeker. A thick chrome grille and a bold new bumper dominate the proceedings up front, while the profile remains similar to the current City, save for a couple of character lines. The designers at Honda seem to have channeled their efforts towards the rear, which now looks far more exciting and sporty than the outgoing model. The split taillight clusters that extend into the boot and the muscular boot lid adds character. Despite these changes, the similarity with the existing City is quite apparent. And for that reason, the new City won’t be sending its loyalists into an excitement frenzy.

It’s a different story with the interiors though. All the flak that Honda received for the sub-par feature list of the previous City have ensured that the problem is addressed, and how. The cabin, sporting a fresh and modern theme, looks to be loaded to the gills now with the top-end variant of the new City even sporting features such as touch-screen air-conditioning controls, rear vents, sun roof and cruise control. Hyundai Verna’s rise to the top seems to have had an effect at Honda’s head-quarters in Japan.

Based on the same platform as the all-new Jazz that’s also due for an Indian launch sometime next year, the City will carry over the 1.5-liter i-VTEC petrol engine from the existing City, albeit with slight tweaks to the power and torque figures. More importantly, the 1.5-liter i-DTEC diesel engine that’s making waves under the hood of the Amaze will make its way into the City for the first time. If the existing City could do all that it did with just a petrol engine, the future looks super-bright for the new model with the diesel joining the lineup.

Bookings for the new City has started and the car is slated to go on sale in January, 2014. The specifications and prices are expected to be available only then.

After ruling the segment for more than a decade, the Honda City lost its ‘numero uno’ position to Hyundai Verna in 2011. Will the new City, with its much-improved interiors and the all-important diesel option, displace the Verna from the top? That’s gonna be one really interesting tussle to witness.

Production of Lamborghini Gallardo comes to an end

It was the end of the road for an Italian icon earlier this week as production of Lamborghini Gallardo, one of the most stylish and iconic super-cars of our times, ended in the company’s Sant’Agata Bolognese facility.

The Gallardo rose to fame at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, an year that marked the 40th anniversary of Lamborghini. While the design and styling stunned audiences at the motor show, the exceptional handling, amazing all-wheel-drive system and the insane power from its 10-cylinder engine impressed critics and experts on the road. Apart from the regular Gallardo and Spyder variants, Lamborghini kept tingling at the hearts of automotive enthusiasts around the world with a range of performance variants and special editions in regular intervals. In case you hadn’t noticed, there was one for India too. Of all such variants, the Gallardo Polizia Stradale that still serves the Italian State Police became a global desktop sensation with its iconic blue and white livery.

It is no wonder then that the Gallardo is, by far, ‘the most successful’ Lamborghini ever. In its 10 year run from 2003 to 2013, production of Gallardo has totaled 14022 units, a truly remarkable feat for a super-car. To put that into the right perspective, the total number of Gallardos is almost half of the 30000 cars that the famous Italian marque has produced since it was first founded in 1963.

The last Gallardo to roll off the line was a LP 570-4 Spyder Performante in Rosso Mars (that’s called red in our parlance). Headed to an undisclosed private collector, the spec-sheet of the final Gallardo read 5.2-liter displacement, V10 configuration, 570 horsepower, 324 km/h top speed, 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and a permanent 4-wheel drive system.

As the Gallardo fades into sunset in the year of Lamborghini's 50th anniversary after sharing the factory space with two of the brand's 12-cylinder super-cars in Murcielago and Aventador, teasers of its successor are already out in the world wide web. However good its replacement is though, the Gallardo will be terribly missed.

LHD variant of Tata Ace spotted testing in Pune

Compared to the rest of the world, India is still a developing country when it comes to automobiles. While most manufacturers are growing with the market with rising sales and market share, Tata Motors sadly isn't one of them. From the diminutive Nano to the ambitious Aria, not a single Tata model is actually setting the sales charts on fire. While all this is happening, one model was silently raking in the volumes and money for Tata Motors. When we say volumes, its not a few hundreds or thousands but a million units and counting. The Ace, Tata's mini truck that pioneered the Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) segment in India, has really been a shining star in troubled times for the company.

With such an astronomical success in the domestic market, its only natural that Tata wants to take the Ace international. The Ace is already on sale in some countries in the Indian subcontinent and a handful of right hand drive (RHD) markets like South Africa. This test vehicle caught with artificial loads to simulate the real world conditions in the outskirts of Pune hints that Tata is readying the Ace for left hand drive (LHD) markets that could even include countries like Italy amongst other African countries. From these spy shots sent in by one of our regular readers, it isn't clear if this is the sub 1-ton Ace or the 1-ton Super Ace. Whatever it is, the message is clear. The Ace family is all set for travel across the shores.

Our guess is that this is the smaller Ace LHD being tested here. Apart from its size, the exhaust snorkel that's positioned in the left side and the absence of crash bar at the rear helped us arrive at that decision. If you hadn't noticed, the Super Ace available on sale in India has the snorkel on the right side and a rear crash bar. The LHD variant of the Super Ace caught testing by our media friends earlier also had them. So, this should be the regular Ace being tested for export markets. Having said that, there are chances of this also being the Super Ace with the said modifications done. Tata Motors had displayed a LHD Super Ace at the 2012 Auto Expo with features like power steering, air-conditioning, power windows, ABS and airbags and powered by a 1.4-liter DiCOR engine.

Given that there aren't many powerful players in the last mile connectivity segment in many markets, Tata Motors has rightly sensed an opportunity there. With the solid reputation that the Ace range has earned in the harsh Indian conditions for its workaholic nature, frugality and reliability, we are sure it can withstand the challenges that the advanced international markets throw at it. If Tata manages to work on the quality, fit and finish of this tiny truck to live up to the higher expectation levels overseas, the Ace and it's derivatives have the potential to make it really big. Wanna bet against? Do it at your own peril!