The Nehru Science Centre at Worli isn’t really the best place to hold an auto expo, but for a city ever desperate for real estate, anything goes. Bandra-Kurla complex would have been a better choice but losers can’t be choosers so here I was with a friend, holding camera phones, eager to enter the Narain Karthikeyan inaugurated, four day long Castrol Autocar Performance Show 2005. Deeming an entry fee of Rs. 50/- being enough to filter out the gawkers from the real auto enthusiasts still couldn’t prevent the place from becoming a chrome fish market, while the exhibition spread in part over the Ground and Second floor accounted for 90% of the traffic rues outside. Following are my first impressions of some show stealers which made the hassles worthwhile:
Entering the expo, I was met with the imposing and drooping glances of Porsche Cayenne. This 5 door SUV from the sports marquee is supposedly selling like hot cakes in India and why shouldn’t it? Offered in V6/V8 cylinder petrol and with a touted top whack of 266Km/hr, cayenne will take you places, better still, faster!
Next in the line was the one of the sexiest cars in the world, the next generation roadster, Porsche Boxster S. This metallic silver, two seat wonder was clearly one of the show stealers as everyone clambered to capture it with their camera clicks at more than 60 mph in 5.7seconds, which is what the sweet baby can do. 260bhp on tap from its 3.2 litre engine, keeping it stationary felt like a crime. The cockpit was just that a cockpit and though the attendant refused to give a demonstration of the retractable roof, this boy toy sure ranked as the hottest automobile on display!
As a show stealer, Castrol had a World Rally Championship simulator stall, where a driver in a Ford Focus, the WRC winning car, could navigate it through a simulated WRC rally course with the help of a LCD mounted on the car’s engine lid. The car’s actual steering acting as a game controller, people kept waiting hours to have a go at this new age game concept
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Also making its presence felt was the Audi TT Coupe. Need I say more? With Audi already starting to make its presence felt in India, it’s no surprise that Audi has brought this, once concept vehicle in the 1995 Frankfurt Motor, now reality, to India. The sweet retro beetle looks deceive from what the 3.2 litre V6 engine is capable of behind the new egg-box grille. Kept in a stall which barely managed to fit in the car, forget standing space, it would explain the lack of a full length picture. One side of the car totally blocked from view, shutter bugs didn’t have much home to talk about, but be it a slice or be it the complete cake, its fattening nevertheless ;-)
With Audi there, how can BMW be far behind. Showcasing its M5 Sports Saloon, Bavarian Motor Works made its presence felt by debuting the model in India. Redesigned from the ground up, it just stood there like a phoenix, black & brooding with a set of eagle eyes, subdued yet insistent of its steroid pumping 500 bhp, V-10 power mill. 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds, where do you want to go today?
Overwhelming. Overpowering. Overshadowing. Time came to a standstill. People just stood there and forgot to walk or talk. Camera’s hung in mid air and phones in mid-conversation. Majestic and kingly, this was one never-ending car. Just the grill made guys go weak in the knees. Heart stopping and once in a lifetime experience, everyone has their own poison, I have found mine. Rolls Royce Phantom Limousine. Since BMW took ownership, the now Southern-England based RR has come out of its step-sibling Bentley’s shadow by launching the Phantom. Back seat creature comforts notwithstanding, most of the technology is hidden from sight as it always has been with RR’s. Just like the V12 petrol it is built big to drive home the point that yes sir, this is still the world’s finest motor car and I’ll have one, thank you!
One car all of us should look out for is Mitsubishi’s Evolution IX or Evo IX as it’s fondly addressed by rally aficionados. A re-designed Lancer with 286 bhp, the blue colour had to be seen to be believed as pictures wouldn’t do justice to its presence and crowd pulling looks. Rally lovers have a new messiah. Subaru Impreza, it’s your call now.
Also present was another one of its SUV’s, the Mitsubishi Montero, boasting of having won the Dakar Rally for the past five years in modified versions. Not much on looks, it sports a torque heavy 3.8-litre V6 engine. Didn’t really appeal to me though.
Last but not the least amongst the direct imports was the 385 bhp Range Rover Sport, flagship product from Land Rover’s garage. The 5 door SUV was getting some serious enquiries and also had the distinction of having the hottest exhibition girl (pardon my chauvinistic rant), who alone accounted for half the crowd at the stall. Capturing her and the rover in the same frame made for one scintillating picture. With an option for 4.2 or 4.4 litre V8 engine, this sophisticated and widely recognized machine is as much at home at Marine Drive as it is in the drinking holes of Africa.
Motorcycles and accessories graced the second floor with their imposing presence. While climbing up the stairs, I found the quaint old world charm of the first floor science section as a bit out of place. School going kids lined up to enter the history section, the contrast hit me hard. If you don’t know what I am talking about then never mind, let’s just get on with the game. Bikes majorly were a big disappointment. People lining up for a Siddhivinayak like darshan of ten odd super bikes displayed in a row with bad lighting to boot. Not only were people being herded like cattle and constantly being asked to get a move-on, bikes weren’t much to look at either. A majority of them pre-owned by Indians and displayed at the expo, the show stealer was the Harley Davidson V-Rod. Chrome everywhere; this bike was just made for Mumbai weather, wasn’t it? Almost all the people were squealing Hayabusa, Hayabosa, Haybosa, hibosa and however which ways you can think of pronouncing it but the funny thing being that there was no Hayabusa there. One of the attendants while revving up a Yamaha R6 on request of a female fan said that the Busa was too big to manage in the line up and was promptly removed. Just my luck!
Though not big on accessories, the NOS cans did get my undivided attention. Market seems to be hotting up with lot of foreign players peddling their goods in the Indian market. Exhausts, steering wheels, wheel rims, coolants, air filters, turbochargers, car shampoos, modifying kits, stickering jobs and almost everything else Automobile under the roof.
Judging from the crowds, the show seemed to be an overall success. Yet, it still can not lay claim to being anywhere near a real Automobile exposition. More of a brand building exercise for Castrol, the show lacked manufacturer interest which is so crucial for such an event. The car scene was majorly dominated by the Germans while the bikes weren’t much to talk home about but all in all it was 50 bucks well spent, it could have been better, but it was good, oh it was good!
Also Ran:
Gautam Singhania owned Honda S 2000 and the famed Lotus Elise
Tata Indica 154bhp
Alibaug bred, Chinkara Roadster and Quadracycle
Tata Formula Racing car
First of its kind project in India for professional racing. Designed and manufactured by LG sports, the LGB Roadster and Formula Rolon powered by Chevrolet.
All new Honda City ZX with VTEC
P.S. Big thanks to Parag Amberkar who tagged along with his 2.0 megapixel Sony Ericsson camera phone to give my Samsung E700 VGA some company.
Bonus points: What do you do when Sachin pulls up beside you in his car? What do you think of when I mention the words Sachin and car in the same sentence? Voyeur shots of Sachin’s Ferrari taken by Parag at Kalanagar, Bandra
- Vishal Pipraiya
© 2005