10 DC Design cars & how they look in the REAL world: Maruti Swift to Mahindra XUV500

Dilip Chhabria or fondly known as DC is not an alien brand for any automotive enthusiast. They conquered the untapped market of building customized cars and are world-renowned now. Presently, they’ve advanced into car manufacturers themselves and is the proud production house for India’s only sports car, the Avanti. DC is so top-notch that most of the cars they work on aren’t even easily spotted on Indian roads. Therefore, we decided to find the most popular consumer cars and show you the DC style of doing things.

Renault Duster

The modified Renaut Duster gets customized 10-spoke alloy wheels. The original headlamps have been replaced by a pair of projector lamps that act as headlamps for the car. The bumper too has been completely modified. However, the lower air dam stays the same and the tiny fog lamps are placed just below the headlamps. The interior of the car has been transformed to give it a lounge-like effect. The quality of the materials is top-notch and extremely plush. The Duster has also been changed into a 4-seater from the original 5-seater.

This particular design on the Renault Duster has probably been a one-off. We have not seen any reports of this being spotted on the road anywhere in a few years now.

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Toyota Fortuner

The Fortuner is one of the most popular SUVs in India and DC couldn’t help but create a lounge-like design for this spacious car. The design is yet to come out from DC, but they went ahead and built one based on the previous generation Fortuner. The current design that you can see below has its front design completely modified – this is not a great work from the house of DC, we think. The current production Fortuner and Fortuner legender beat this design handsomely.

Mahindra XUV500

As mentioned above, DC is fond of converting spacious SUVs into lounge-like setup. This modified XUV 500 from DC offers a pair of captain seats, each of them being a whopping 24 inches. The seats are fully electric and can recline to almost 150 degrees. Each seat gets its own individual reading light and there is ambient lighting all around the interiors. The captain seats also get their own 10.4-inch LCD screens fitted behind the front seats. The screens could be easily connected to a DVD player or a computer for uninterrupted entertainment. The seats also have tables that can be used to eat or work.

We can’t complain about this modified XUV500 from DC design. It was based on the first generation XUV500, and this gives it a bit more of a smooth, modern-ish look to the SUV. The next few generations of the XUV500 had classier designs, and this one really does not beat them in pure looks.

Volkswagen Polo

The Volkswagen Polo is a favourite for anyone who loves to drive. The modified version is extremely muscular in appearance. The DC modified Polo gets wide fenders and sleeker headlamp units. However, this change seems minuscule in front of reducing the number of doors to only 3 from the original 5 door Polo. The rear has completely been changed and gets much larger tires to give it a masculine look. This is a design that has aged well – we still like it. The pocket-rocket looks of the hatchback Polo has stood the test of time, we think.

Maruti Swift

Why should the Swift not be on the list of something DC would like to modify. DC went all out and Swift would never be the same after you look at the image below. It gets new LED DRLs that completely change the front end. The front also gets an air dam and a new grille. Towards the rear, the bumper has completely been replaced and DC also added the air dam on the rear to ensure uniformity in design. For the interiors, DC went a bit jazzy with a red and white theme along with the dashboard, centre console and door trims.

Unfortunately this is not a look that we can like anymore. It looks different alright, but has the look of something quickly patched together.

Mahindra Thar to DC Hammer

DC’s Thar wasn’t really something that we feel the Thar needed. The Mahindra Thar comes with a very perpendicular design with clean lines running all through it. The design was too outlandish for Thar. Even though they retain the two-door design, the soft roof has been scrapped completely. The design has not been liked by many.

Honda City

Carnation, a car service chain owned by Jagdish Khatter came in partnership with DC to modify this Honda City. There is not much to see here, except the minor body kit change to give it a more aggressive look. Not too attractive, this new face.

Toyota Innova

DC specializes in modifying the Innova and Innova lounge seems to be the most popular product from DC. The DC version of the Innova gets 2 business class seats at the back instead of two rows of seats. This means much more leg space, recline space and uninterrupted ventilation. It’s the perfect car if you want optimum comfort sitting at back. Again, not a lot of them can be spotted on the road, but here is an image. Not something we approve of.

However, a lot of the good work of DC Design on Innovas are about the interior. We don’t think its easy to change the looks of the Innova anyway – the design looks pretty resistant to change to or eyes.

Hyundai i20

DC has modified even the i20. They launched a body kit for the previous generation i20. This body kit comes with a new bumper and grille. However, popular opinion bends towards the original design of the i20 over the modified one as it reflected a lot more elegance. Definitely not the best work from DC.

Ford Ecosport

This mean-looking machine from DC is quite refreshing. The crossover butch look has been retained even with the modifications done by DC. The interiors get the lounge effect, and the rear bench has been replaced by individual seats. The interiors have been spruced up quite a few notches with this amazing modification job done by DC. Looking at this redesigned EcoSport in 2023, we think it has aged reasonably well. It can still turn some heads on the street, and in a good way too.

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