Exclusive! DC Avanti to come back as an electric sports car based on TCA concept
Built as a successor to the Avanti, the TCA will be powered by an electric motor and will be capable of a 0 to 100 kmph time of around 5 seconds. The car will be priced around the Rs 40 lakh mark and will hit the roads around 2022.
The DC Avanti was the first Indian sports car, completely build and productionised in India by DC Design. The mid-engined car priced at Rs 45 lakh was launched in 2015 and it had the RenaultSport 2-litre turbo-charged four-cylinder engine with 250bhp. Yes, the Avanti had its flaws, but it wasn’t bad for a first attempt. Fast forward a few years to the 2018 Auto Expo and DC showcased the TCA — a successor to the Avanti with a bunch of improvements both on the outside and inside. Today Dilip Chhabria joined us on our daily #evoConversations Instagram Live and exclusively revealed that the TCA is being electrified, and if all goes to plan, it will go on sale sometime in 2022 for a price of around Rs 40 lakh.
Not the final production spec interior, but a step up neverthelessDilip went on to share quite a few details about the TCA. The car is still in its development stage which means that some of these figures may change before it hits production. The development work on the electric powertrain is being done in Switzerland and while the 0 to 100kmph has been reported at a “conservative” 5.5 seconds, a time of 4 seconds is on the radar. The chassis and body of the TCA are ready, the development and fabrication of the interior as well as lighting elements are being worked on, in parallel with the electric powertrain. In the current economic environment DC expects the electric TCA to go on sale in a year and a half so we are looking at 2022 before this hits the road.
The styling has matured a bit from the AvantiYes, DC could have just made some minor improvements to the Avanti and sold it as the TCA but Dilip was adamant that they could do a much better job than they did on the Avanti. The new tax reforms for electric cars have also helped — the Avanti attracts 53 per cent GST while the TCA will only attract five per cent. So, while the cost to produce the TCA might be slightly higher, it will end up being more affordable. Another advantage of the TCA is that it will be made in India. This means cheaper cost of production as opposed to other sportscars and will allow DC to export the TCA to international markets.
The TCA should be fun to drive!DC has not upgraded the 2-litre engine in the Avanti to BS6 emission standards so the Avanti is no longer on sale. But DC hasn’t given up on his sports car and the TCA will be one of the first Indian electric sportscars, if all goes to plan. We’re not going to lie — the formula of a zingy electric powertrain in a small, well balanced car, and one that does not empty your bank account sounds very appealing to us!
Karan Singh, Correspondent, evo India
Perhaps as much in love with Porsche 911s as he is with sneakers (and good food), Karan claims his love for cars started before he learnt to speak, even though there is a rumour around the office that he fell asleep while attending his first ever Grand Prix! He likes to find weird quirks about cars and dedicates a fairly large space in his head to random car facts and an equally large space in his heart for cars with cool specs. He came across this career path by chance, and going by how excited he gets as soon as new metal rolls into the office, he seems to be loving everyday of his journey as an automotive journalist.
