With the demand for high end luxury and sports cars in India surging, you will soon get the most favoured nation status by many European and American manufacturers as the demand for such machines are on an all time high. It’s going to be an auto war out there. Neil Joshi reviews some of the new breeds that have hit the streets.
They are hot, suave and can halt a whole lane gasping for their breath when they zip past by you. The ‘drives’, which will be displayed at the AutoCar Performance Show 2010 from November 18-21 at the Bandra-Kurla Complex, will boast the top names in the business and will boast as to why they have the most wanted tag on the bonnet.
This year’s Autocar Show will feature high-performance machines like Porsches, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Mercedes, Skodas and Audis, which will provide a visual feast for car lovers.
Among the top models, which will be displayed in the city for the first time would be the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4, Skoda Yeti and Fabia 1.6 and the Volvo XC60, while the Nissan 370z, Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X will rev up the pomp at the display at the performance show. Fiat will be displaying their 1.4 Linea T-Jet and 90 HP Punto 1.3 diesel variant at the show among other participants.
Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, ‘Autocar India’ feels that the demand for high-end luxury and premium cars will witness exponential growth, which will see a wide-segment of these cars hitting the Indian market in the coming months. “The demand for such cars will triple in the next five years. This segment will witness tremendous growth and expansion as more and more international car manufacturers explore the Indian market,” said Sorabjee.
He added that India’s love affair with super luxury cars is still at a nascent stage and he views the hunger will just grow as car makers set up base in India viewing the potential of the Indian market. “India’s love affair with luxury brands has just begun. . . Many European companies are looking forward to setting up their base here. There are huge orders which been placed by the Indian customers, which shows the potential of our market. Also, companies like the Mercedes, which traditionally have had a stronghold in the Indian market have been left behind by BMW who is slowly taking the centre-stage in the premium car segment,” he said.
Along with the four-wheeler segment, the luxury two wheeler markets is gaining base with Harley Davidson opening their workshop in India. Many super bikes, like the Yamaha and Ducati models have been cashing in on the demand for super bikes.