It was Maruti 800 that made affordable personal transportation possible in India. Before Maruti 800 vehicles were expensive and regular people could not really afford them. Since then this has been the policy of the Maruti Suzuki. They make one of the most affordable vehicles in India. The 800 was the first front-wheel-drive vehicle which was one of the reasons that the manufacturer was able to price it so competitively. The 800 was first introduced in 1983 and continued to rule the market until 2014 after which it was discontinued. But what if it was launched today?
The render has done by Vipin Vithoopan who has imagined what the 800 could look like if it was launched today. It is the new modern age version of the Maruti 800. The inspiration behind the render is the Japanese concept cars and Kei cars that are very popular in Japan.
From the image, we can see that the size of the car is still quite compact. It still has the iconic profile that distinguishes it from other compact hatchbacks. Up-front the grille design has been kept the same and it still gets the well known Maruti Suzuki logo that we saw on the old vehicles.
Also read: Top Amazon Basics automotive accessories
The headlamps are square in shape just like the original 800. However, now they get LED elements and LED Daytime Running Lamps. The bumper looks quite normal but that was the theme with the 800, everything was normal which helped them in keeping the costs down.
The turn indicators are placed on the side fenders and there is a crease that runs through the length of the vehicle. The door handle looks different from any other door handle that we have seen. The A and B pillars are finished in black. This gives a floating roof effect. The alloy wheels and outside rearview mirrors are finished in black.
Maruti 800
Maruti 800 was discontinued back in 2014 because the manufacturer could not make it comply with the BS4 emission norms. The hatchback was on sale for almost three decades. As of now, Maruti Suzuki has no plans to bring back the 800 in the Indian market. It is important to note that the above rendering is just an imagination of the artist and Maruti Suzuki has not announced anything regarding launching the 800.
Maruti 800 was one of the most reliable vehicle. It was available with a 796 cc petrol engine that produced 37 bhp of max power and 57 Nm of peak torque. It was a three-cylinder engine that was mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Upcoming Maruti Suzuki vehicles
India’s largest auto maker is working on slew of upcoming vehicles. Soon there will be a new generation of the Celerio which has not received a major update since it was first launched in 2014. It was positioned as the entry level hatchback for the Indian market.
There are also other products in the pipeline such as a new generation of Baleno which was recently spied. Maruti Suzuki is also working on replacing their ageing S-Cross. There will also be a Baleno based compact SUV and a 5-seater version of the Jimny.
Also read: Citroen”s 3 new cars for India DETAILED