When Mark Webber and Karun Chandhok drove in the Renault Pulse at Noida the previous week, a few disappointed faces popped up in the crowd. The reason was they were shown a cosmetically changed Micra with Renault diamonds.
That changed as Renault displayed a Pulse wearing fancy alloys on the same stage. What is that thing? Is it a hot hatchback? Will it have a stiff suspension with a performance exhaust? A Pulse RenaultSport with the GT-R's face!
Soon after Renault played down those ideas, there was cheer in the automotive press about the Pulse RenaultSport. The idea of a car that looks fast is better that a fast car that returns less mileage and costs more to buy and maintain.
Like Swift or Figo, the Renault Pulse is aimed at the Indian middle class. It has to drive the father to work, the kids to school, sail through the city traffic after the mother has finished her shopping. The grandparents are hosted on the weekends at the backseat that has to be welcoming.
Doing all this at the cost of a few pennies is on Pulse's task sheet and not driving through the bus stop chicane on Spa-Francorchamps faster than a WTCC Cruze.
A vehicle performing daily chores can be helped along with a tinge of excitement. Even if its interior is all about caring for the household, there's no harm in sporting a track-honed exterior. The idea has resulted in the Pulse RenaultSport kit that is learned to be in the pipeline as a dealer accessory.
Similar to the concept showcased at the Noida unveiling, the RenaultSport version of the Pulse for the market will have
- Body Kit
- Decals
- RenaultSport badges
- Special alloy wheels
Renault has no plans of offering a higher displacement engine. They have the choice of plonking the 1.5-liter petrol from the Sunny under the Pulse's bonnet, but we hear there's no such plan on Renault's mind. The Pulse will be on view at the Auto Expo in January next year where prices and variants will be announced.
