India’s Tata Motors may not have had the success it hoped for with the Nano, but the owner of Jaguar and Land Rover is far from giving up. At this week’s Auto Expo 2014 in Greater Noida, Delhi NCR, Tata will host the world premiere of two new and related models, the Bolt hatchback and Zest sedan.
These two new small cars are built on the company’s X1 platform and have a more premium feel than what you usually expect from Tata-branded products, with the automaker stating that they are the result of a collaborative inputs from three of its design studios in Pune (India), Coventry (UK) and Turin ( Italy).
“These cars have been engineered for global markets, through global teams across India, UK and Korea to set new standards in their respective segments,” said Tata passenger vehicles president, Ranjit Yadav, according to The Economic Times (ETT).
Scheduled to go on sale during the second half of the year, both the 3,995mm (157.3 inches) long Zest sedan and Bolt hatch will both be offered with the new 84hp 1.2-liter turbocharged “Revotron” petrol engine, while the saloon will also be available with a Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre Multijet diesel.
Among other notable features will include the availability of an automated manual transmission (AMT) named “F-tronic” for the diesel unit, a 5-inch touchscreen, smartphone integration, navigation and an Electronic Power Assisted System with ‘Active Return’ function and speed sensitive power steering.
A nod to Faisal Kahn from Motorbeam for the live photos
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