Ed speak

DON’T LET ANYBODY TELL YOU OTHERWISE, this year’s Auto Expo was a success. On the evening of the first show day, at our awards function, I had (nonparticipating) industry bosses tell me that the Expo was ‘thanda’ but that criticism was unwarranted. Unlike the past everybody and their uncle did not get a media pass and that meant we could do our jobs on the press days – check out the cars and bikes without having to jostle for space and bring you the stories you want to read. And when the gates were thrown open to the public, gosh, the lines snaked around forever. I don’t know about quality but in terms of quantity there were enough and more people.

Our expansive show special on the following pages highlights all the stars but for me the standouts were the two relatively innocuous cars on the Tata Motors stand – the JTS-spec Tiago and Tigor. No, I haven’t lost my marbles. Yes, you should be excited about the Jayem Automotive Tata Motors Performance cars because this is the start of affordable enthusiast cars.

There’s nothing insane about the specs, it’s just a 108bhp turbo-four mated to a five-speed manual. But crucially, and unlike what VW and Maruti have done with their GTs and RS’, the engine is only the start. The suspension has been lowered and stiffened, mated to grippy rubber, with larger brakes, and honed at the Kari Speedway by people who know how to drive. It will be fun to drive. It will also sound fruity, something that I’d like to believe I was the first to suggest to the project team. And the styling tweaks do make it look good, just get rid of the shouty red accents.

All of this is hardly rocket science, yet with the notable exception of Ford with the Figo S, no manufacturer has cared to homologate a budget-performance car, missing the wood for the trees as far as us enthusiasts are concerned. In Tata Motors’ case, all these components are already on their shelves, the smart move is getting one of India’s finest motorsport tuners to put it all together and lend their name to the project. After all, in the unforgiving world of motorsport, you just cannot afford to have things fall apart. Off the shelf components also means there’s no reason for the JTS cars to cost silly money. I even suggested a stripped-down JTS for motorsport use and also for enthusiasts to use as a blank (ish) canvas and give a boost to the aftermarket-tuning brigade.

The fun starts in a few months. Aren’t you excited? ⌧

‘It is hardly rocket science, yet no manufacturer has cared to homologate such a car’