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India, and the world, are in lockdown, which means neither you, nor we, have done any driving or riding this month. But that doesn’t mean you miss out on your monthly dose of evo India. For the first (and hopefully the last) time we put together a magazine without a car on the cover. The cover picture — an empty road that’s been whipped into submission by fast cars being driven enthusiastically — is a reflection of the times we are living in. Where we need to stay indoors to flatten the covid-19 curve, but where our dreams can run wild.
We are happy to send you this Lockdown Special digital issue which you can download from this link
We have been responsible. This isn’t a time to be out on the streets and so we have consciously chosen not to publish any reviews or stories that involved driving or riding, despite having wrapped them up before the lockdown was announced. This month we are doing things differently. Like you, we too are working from home and have put together content that, like everything else we do, will excite and enthuse. The stories, the sections, the page design and our entire approach to the e-mag has been different. Everything is also linked to our social media handles and YouTube channel, so as you are reading a story you can head straight to the video or the conversation on our Instagram IGTV. This is not an issue you will spend hours with, this is an issue you could possibly spend days with!
You can also win cool Mercedes-Benz merchandise in our contest, where you guess the boss’ dream three-Mercedes garage.
This May Lockdown Special is not a print magazine. It is impossible to get a physical magazine to your doorstep with courier services being suspended. This, however, does not replace the print magazine either. evo India magazine in print will be out once we get back to doing things the way we were doing them before — with enthusiastic cars on great roads, and stories designed to put you in the driver’s seat. In fact, we already have our next print cover story ready where we’ve brought together Group A rally rockets that adorned our bedroom walls when we were growing up (dreams, it’s a continuing theme!). Until then, in the wake of the lockdown extension, we hope you enjoy this exclusively digital special issue! Here’s what else you will find inside:
Bren Garage
Over the course of the lockdown Boopesh Reddy took us on a (virtual) walk around his Bren Garage, showing us the Bren 10 — a collection of sports and supercars that is unparalleled here in India. He also talks us through his journey with the garage, about how James Bond in Casino Royale inspired him to buy the first car in the garage, how the spec of his Speciale is identical to what he saw at the Frankfurt motor show along with his dad, how he first built the garage then started buying cars to park inside, how he first bought the TechArt GT Street R kit and then the donor Porsche Turbo S, and much more.
WIN!
A 1:46 Mercedes-Benz C-Class scale model, Mercedes hat and keyring if you can correctly guess what Martin Schwenk, Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO’s, dream three-Mercedes garage is. We have a hint in there!
Race Concepts’ Top 5
Race Concepts has built some of the fastest, maddest, hyper-tuned cars to be unleashed on this country’s roads and race tracks. Founder Joel Joseph picks his top five builds, from the Honda City VTEC that his reputation is built on to the drag-spec Honda Accord, a rest-mod BMW E36, a juiced up 1.6-litre Zen and a Mini Cooper with the wick turned up.
Power to the people
Turbo-petrol engines are no longer the preserve of only expensive cars. Over the past year Hyundai have been putting turbo-petrol engines into all their cars, starting with the Venue, then the Creta and now the Aura, Grand i10 NIOS and even the updated Verna get turbo-petrol engines. It has never been a better time to be an enthusiast!
Merc from Home
With social distancing becoming the norm, Mercedes-Benz India has created an entire e-commerce platform exclusively to buy Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs from. It is designed such that you never need to go to a dealership — with everything from listings, finance, insurance and even virtual consultation and payment options built in to it.
Supercars vs Hypercars
Remember the holy trinity? Those hypercars from less than a decade ago are being eclipsed by more accessible (relatively speaking!) supercars today. We line up the LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spider against the SF90 Stradale, 765LT and 911 GT2 RS to understand how these companies have upped the ante so much in the last few years.
Toyota Supra
Toyota needs a halo car in India. It has some really exciting cars in its global line up, but its India portfolio is… sensible. However, in a recent conversation with Naveen Soni, Vice President at Toyota India, he dropped some rather exciting hints at what could be headed our way. Is it the Supra? Read the story to find out!
The TSI story
Volkswagen has discontinued diesel engines and is focussing on its acclaimed TSI turbo-petrol engines for its onslaught of new SUVs. What makes the TSI so special though? We dig a little deeper to understand the technology behind these engines, and what makes them such powerful yet clean and refined motors.
Pratap Bose’s Masterclass
VP of global design at Tata Motors design busts the myth that you need to be good at sketching cars to be involved in car design. He breaks down the various avenues you can take to join the design department of a car company — from engineering design to clay modelling and even project management and accounting. Never before have careers in automotive design been approached with such depth.
Gill’s Advanced Driving Academy
Gaurav Gill, India’s best rally driver, joined us on #evoConversations on Instagram to break down his driving style and give us a masterclass on techniques that would make you faster on both the road and the rally stage. From trail braking, managing understeer, left foot braking and tips on how to rotate the car — this story is a must read for anyone who thinks they can pull a trick or two behind the ’wheel.
The auto industry steps up
The world has come to a standstill in the wake of the covid-19 crisis, but carmakers are proactively trying to help ease the stress on the system. Many have modified their production lines to manufacture essentials like face shields and PPEs, while others have donated large sums of money and ramped up their CSR efforts. They have also announced measures to take care of customers and dealer partners in these critical times. We take a closer look.
TVS and Norton
One of the biggest pieces of news during the lockdown was the acquisition of Norton Motorcycles by TVS Motor Company. TVS acquiring Norton gives them access to their technology, IP and current range of motorcycles and TVS says it is committed to restoring Norton to its former glory. We sit down with Sudarshan Venu, vice-chairman at TVS Motor Company for a (virtual) round table.
Brand logos
Car companies have been redesigning their brand logos of late — staying away from the elaborate logos they once had and shifting to flat designs. Why so? There are a number of reasons ranging from what the human brain is now accustomed to seeing, to optimising logos for digital screens. We delve deeper in to what has brought about this shift.
Phone photography
Just because you don’t have a fancy DSLR camera doesn’t mean you cannot take good photos! Rohit, our chief photographer, breaks down how you can use your mobile phone to take great photos of a car. He also gives some solid advice on how to edit and post-process the photos on phone apps to make you look like an absolute pro.
Scale model photography
There’s no better time to take out those scale models and indulge in some phone photography during the lockdown. Again, fancy equipment is really not needed — you just need to use objects lying around the house creatively to get the most out of your pictures. We give you some properly useful tips on how to seriously up your photography game.
Phone games
Couldn’t convince your parents to get you that Logitech wheel and pedal set? Fret not, you can take your need for speed on to your mobile phone with these racing games. From realistic to cartoonish, there is a whole variety of racing games to suit your mood.
The rise of eSports
Motorsport events around the global have been cancelled and every series is looking at innovative new ways to keep their audience engaged. The most exciting one seems to be eSports, where at-home top-tier drivers take on pro gamers on their consoles online. With F1, MotoGP, Formula E and even rallying Ultimate-E here in India taking to the internet to keep racing going, eSports has gotten a step up like never before
