A new prototype of Tata's upcoming hatchback Kite has been spied undergoing tests, this time around Tata Motors' Engineering Research Center in Pimpri, Pune.
It is not a secret that Tata is readying a new hatchback, which would sit above the company's least expensive model Nano and below the upcoming hatchback Bolt. Codenamed Kite, the new hatchback built on Indica's new platform has been in the testing phase on Indian roads for quite a while now. The latest set spy shots of the car come from CarToq and here too, the car is seen hiding under significant amount of camouflage.
Kite, a small car getting shaped to rival Maruti Celerio and Hyundai Grand i10 in India, is expected to reach Indian market sometime in 2015. The auto enthusiasts in the country are also in the know that Tata is also testing a sedan based on the same Kite platform, which is also currently doing its testing in the country.
Coming back to the Kite hatchback, the car is expected to be offered in both petrol and diesel engine options. Though the powerplant of the model is yet to be known, reports on the web suggest that Kite is likely to pack the company's new 1.05-litre three-cylinder common-rail diesel motor, which can churn out a power of 64.1bhp and 14.27kgm of torque and all-new 1.2-litre petrol engine.
In terms of transmission, five speed manual gearboxes are expected. There have also been rumours that automated manual transmission (AMT) could also make its way into new Kite.
Speaking of the pricing of Kite, rumour mills have indicated an impressive price tag of around ₹4 lakh. Tata Motor is likely to utilise the company's Sanand facility in Gujarat to produce Kite as it has been lying fallow due to the sluggish demand for Nano in the country.
In another development, Tata Motors is all geared to take the wraps off its highly anticipated Bolt hatchback in the country on 15 January. The company has started accepting bookings for Bolt in India with a down payment of ₹11,000. Under the hood, the petrol variant of the car packs 1.2-litre Revotron turbo-charged engine, which is tuned to generate 84bhp at 5,000rpm and a torque of 140Nm of 1,750-3,500rpm.
