Tata Indica Silhouette Concept: 330 PS 3.5 liter V6

Tata Indica Silhouette

The Tata Indica Silhouette concept car is unlike what you’d expect an Indica to be. This is not a budget city car with a tiny engine, but rather a track monster powered by a 3.5 litre V6 mounted at the rear of the car, powering the rear wheels as well. This setup instantly reminds us of the Renault Clio V6, but this isn’t exactly a production road car, so think of it more of similiar to the Golf GTI W12-650.

The 3.5 litre V6 engine (a race-ready version of the Renault-Nissan VQ engine) produces 330 PS at 7.000rpm and sends the 850kg Tata Indica Silhouette barrelling down the roads up to the 100km/h mark in just 4.5 seconds, up to a top speed of 270km/h. The engine is mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

The 2-seater car is built on a space frame steel chassis made with aeronautical steel and uses the engine as a stress member. The car uses an adjustable progressive rate pneumatic suspension system. For track duties, it has a data logging system and a high-accuracy GPS unit.

So in reality this isn’t exactly an Indica adapted to fit a V6 in the rear, but a space frame and an engine with a shell made to look like an Indica put on top of it, much like R3’s rear wheel drive Waja.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • Porkbutcher (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 2:02 am

    Another fuel guzzle and an impractical under-engineered car. Engine placed at the rear and I suppose the compartment under the bonnet is for a large fuel tank? Awkward rear wheel arch and useless skirting that inhibits the doors from opening. But it is a commendable achievement for Tata for bringing my attention to this showcase..

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  • jtshin (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 3:07 am

    Tata should have more of these designs though. Rather than the big body small slim tiny wheeled cars… hehe…

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  • tantragna (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 3:42 am

    Good initiative, but I feel the wheel arches is not suiting the curved body structure of the Indica. They should rework so that it matches the aerodynamics of the indica & look like a real silhouette!

    TATA’s Think about it Seriously!

    Happy motoring..

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  • azrai (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 7:27 am

    This is just a concept car. Just like a Camry NASCAR which only have Camry shell but a totally different spec in it.

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  • bahari (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 8:14 am

    even it is a concept car, but it is an ugly car. Like OKU Daihatsu Charade.
    Very ugly.

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  • Kevin Lee (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 8:28 am

    well im sure if our proton satria neo comes with that, i’m sure it’ll sell like hotcakes, considering the back space of the satria neo is rather useless

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  • 4G63T DSM (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 8:30 am

    Porkbutcher said,
    April 15, 2008 @ 2:02 am

    Another fuel guzzle and an impractical under-engineered car. Engine placed at the rear and I suppose the compartment under the bonnet is for a large fuel tank? Awkward rear wheel arch and useless skirting that inhibits the doors from opening.

    ———

    LOL. Wondering if thats sarcasm or a non-petrohead has stumbled on the blog…

    If anything its just a publicity stunt…however it should still go like a bat out of hell.

    Reminds me of those insane Group B cars. Oh how I wish they were still racing them.

    The extra wide fenders/mud guards are part of the workarounds for the Group 5 Silhouette class which limited body width to production spec but no limits were set on trackwidth. Therefore the cars were modified with extended tracks and wide tyres, which needed these extra wide fenders.

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  • knight_templar (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    hmmm, interesting. Color should have been a bit more garang though. Btw what does ‘uses the engine as a stress member’ mean? The engine gives the structure rigidity?

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  • StingRayINC (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    WTF is this? even those experts in Bandar Sunway can modify a hot hatch to become this crap, if they want to…..and I don’t think so…. Concept, Yeah Right, go learn more abt concept first before shouting and exhibiting concept car, no relation to environment friendliness, daily convenience and other benefits. In my opinion this car only makes the world even worse, more reckless MTFKs driver.

    Concept car from TATA, don’t make me throw up yesterday’s food

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  • bavarian (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    the figures are good but the car is too ugly

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  • harry potter (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    The picture above looks like a Radio Controlled car

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  • fastcx (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    more n more commenter that dont know what they r talking about lately…read the article before give unrelated comment! to name a few, StingRayINC and Porkbutcher. it is a concept! every other major manufacturer do radical concept cars! or r any of u staying under the rock so that u dont seem to know what it means to be concept? anyway, do u get sunway garage to do a aerospace grade material as ur chassis for u? pls b a wise malaysian rather than loud talker but with brain capacity worse than retard

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  • Realeyes (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 6:14 pm

    At last, Ah Beng met his match…

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  • Roti Naan (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 6:34 pm

    harry potter,

    I agree with you. I oso thought it was a RC car. If TATA put a whip antenna on the roof of the car, confirm ppl will think its a RC.

    My boy-boy will love to have his RC in 1:1 scale.

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    The doors look like they are incomplete? or side skirting to high?

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  • faizfadil (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    Tata going performance????

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  • szw (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 8:48 pm

    so , do they have raods in india 4 such car ?

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  • cbljkkj (Member) on Apr 15, 2008 at 9:06 pm

    StingRayINC said,

    April 15, 2008 @ 1:59 pm

    WTF is this? even those experts in Bandar Sunway can modify a hot hatch to become this crap, if they want to…..and I don’t think so…. Concept, Yeah Right, go learn more abt concept first before shouting and exhibiting concept car, no relation to environment friendliness, daily convenience and other benefits. In my opinion this car only makes the world even worse, more reckless MTFKs driver.

    Concept car from TATA, don’t make me throw up yesterday’s food
    ____________________________________________________________________________

    I think you totally missed the point of this car. Excerpt from original article “this isn’t exactly a production road car”.

    It is through R&D that you have today VVT-I, VTEC, I-DSI, suspension settings, aerodynamics and misc.

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  • StingRayINC (Member) on Apr 16, 2008 at 1:31 am

    Yeah whatever makes u happy “fastcx”, the thing is that TATA is making rubbish car, and good luck to you “Roti canai Car” fan.

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  • BanyakMasukWorkshop (Member) on Apr 16, 2008 at 9:24 am

    its actually quite impressive.. especially this part “uses the engine as a stress member” thats like open wheeler race car technology. it takes quite a bit of decent engineering work to get things like that right.

    on styling, i guess thats totally subjective and up to ones own taste.

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  • fastcx (Member) on Apr 16, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    roti canai not bad ma, taste good, well fed, still consider cheap also!

    what is it for u to say they produce rubbish StingRayINC? they create opportunities for ppl to owns car! rather than u typing rubbish comments that create nothing but attention to urself, useless loud talker

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  • raybrig85 (Member) on Apr 16, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    stingracnc think dat he can produce a better car than dis…dats y he said like dat…actually he is rubbish coz said other ppl’s effort is rubbish…mind ur word…eventho it is nt good…bt still acceptable for me…not impressive bt still ok… at least they hv sumthing…

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  • Auto_crat (Member) on Apr 21, 2008 at 9:04 am

    It’s a concept. Not suitable for the Indian. They better stick on the Nano. It’s a bold effort though.

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  • Sunny Anand on Aug 07, 2009 at 10:24 am

    3.5L 270kmph do u need a driver to break records here in india or anywhere , contact me if it matters to H.O.D.

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  • ashlyn on Apr 21, 2015 at 6:39 am

    I think it’s awesome :D

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  • ashlyn on Apr 21, 2015 at 6:41 am

    Its awesome

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