Tata Nano with larger petrol engine spotted?

Snapshot: Tata Motors is testing an 800 cc petrol engined Nano in and around Pune. The new engine uses a triple cylinder layout and is rear-mounted as is the case with the current, twin cylinder 623 cc petrol engine. The 800 cc triple cylinder engine promises better performance and more importantly, an exhaust note that is more akin to the ones that the Maruti Alto 800 and the Hyundai Eon feature. 

 The current Nano that is outfitted with the 623 cc twin cylinder petrol engine. The twin cylinder layout of the engine means that its exhaust note resembles a thrum that’s associated more with two wheelers and autorickshaws. This factor, along with the “cheap car” tag of the Nano is said to be a major dissuasion to prospective buyers of the hatchback. By endowing the Nano with an 800 cc petrol engine with a triple cylinder layout, Tata Motors will make the Nano’s exhaust note smoother, giving the car’s appeal an upmarket boost.

Rushlane is carrying spyshots of the purported 800 cc petrol engined Nano. Although the spyshots don’t indicate the position of the exhaust, CarToq can confirm to you that the exhaust will be repositioned to a more conventional position on the left/right hand side of the rear bumper, at odds with the center layout of the current Nano’s exhaust. So, if you happen to chance upon a Nano test mule with an exhaust existing on the left/right hand side of the rear bumper, you can be certain that it is the larger engined petrol Nano being tested.

Apart from the revised position of the exhaust, the 800 cc petrol Nano will also get a new front bumper design, open-able hatch lid and other such improved features. In a nutshell, the 800 cc engined petrol Nano is a part of Tata Motors’ overall strategy of re-positioning the hatchback as a convenient city car that packs in value and that’s aimed at younger car buyers. Click here to read about how Tata Motors has been steadily adding features to the Nano and along with that has been increasing prices of the small car.