Half-a-Dozen High Performance Cars from the 2016 Auto Expo

There’s going to be a flurry of high performance cars being launched in India over the next 10 months. Half a dozen such cars were shown at the Auto Expo, some of them very affordable and some of them very exotic. Here’s all you need to know.

Fiat Linea T-Jet 125 S

Fiat will give the Linea more power for 2016. Called the 125 S, the Linea T-Jet will get a higher state of tune for its 1.4 liter turbo petrol engine at 125 Bhp-210 Nm. The car will retain the 5 speed manual gearbox though. To be made available in an additional Blue colour with a featured packed interior, the Linea 125 S promises to be one of the fastest and most powerful C-Segment sedans in India. ABS will be standard on the car, which is expected to be priced well below the 10 lakh rupee mark.

Volkswagen Polo GTI

Volkswagen will unleash the Polo GTI in a few months from now, and the car was showcased at the Auto Expo. The Polo GTI will be imported into India through the completely built unit (CBU) route, which means that it’ll be quite pricey. A price tag of over 20 lakh rupees is likely for the car, which will feature a 1.8 liter TSI turbo petrol engine with 189 Bhp of peak power and 250 Nm of peak torque. The car will use a 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox, which will power its front wheels. A 0-100 Kph run of 6.7 seconds and a top speed of about 240 Kph will be the major highlights of this car.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS

The Baleno RS is the high performance version of Maruti’s latest premium hatchback. The car will also be the first from Maruti to feature a turbocharged petrol engine. The 1 liter-3 cylinder motor, called the BoosterJet, will make 120 Bhp-170 Nm, and will use a 5 speed manual gearbox.

Both the Baleno RS and the 1 liter BoosterJet turbo petrol engine were shown at the Auto Expo. The car will also feature a body kit, and could be as fast as the Punto Abarth when it comes to the 0-100 Kph timing. A Diwali 2016 launch is on the cards for the RS model, at a slight premium over the Baleno 1.2 Petrol Alpha variant.

Tata Bolt Sport

The Bolt Sport will mark Tata’s entry into the world of sporty cars. The hatchback will use a 1.2 liter turbo petrol engine with 108 Bhp-170 Nm on tap. A close ratio 5 speed manual gearbox, and stiffer suspension are the other major mechanical changes expected on this car, which will also get a body kit to differentiate itself from the regular Bolt.

The Bolt Sport has been tuned by J.Anand, of Jayem Automotive. To be priced at a slight premium over the regular turbo petrol version to make sure that the car will get a solid chance to attract enthusiasts, the Bolt Sport is likely to be big value for money.

Ford Mustang

The second quarter (April-June) of this year will see Ford India launching the country’s first muscle car in the form of the Mustang. The car was showcased in a glitzy event a few weeks ago, and was also shown at the Auto Expo. There’s a big around this flagship Ford, which will be brought into India as as completely built unit (CBU). It’ll get a 5 liter V8 petrol engine with 432 Bhp and 560 Nm. The engine will be mated to a 6 speed automatic gearbox driving the rear wheels.

Nissan GT-R

The GT-R supercar will be launched in the second half of this year, and Nissan got along car lover and actor John Abraham to unveil this car. The GT-R has a strong lineage of high performance, and is known as a practical, everyday supercar. Sachin Tendulkar owns one and so does Gautam Singhania. The GT-R sold here will be a CBU, and is expected to command a price tag close to Rs. 2 crores. The car will use a 3.8 liter V6 twin turbo petrol engine (545 Bhp-612 Nm) mated to a 6 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox. An all wheel drive layout will be standard.