The success of its two hatchbacks – the Aveo U-VA and the Spark and new releases from other automakers – has spurred GM India to think of bringing the Chevrolet Mini sooner than ever!
GM is now working out all odds to bring in the ‘Mini’ and heat up the premium hatchback space. The Chevrolet Mini which is based on the Beat concept (showcased two years back in New York Auto Show) will come with frugal Petrol and Diesel engine options; expected to be positioned above the Chevrolet U-VA and priced around that range.
The Chevy Mini as it appears (in pictures), would be a large hatchback- possibly the largest hatchback India has seen (we’ll leave out the SRV for now)! But this is just a speculation (a visual perception), as no dimensions have been revealed yet.
A very swift spy photographer has had a shot of heavily camouflaged Chevrolet Beat prototype lounging around at New York’s Rochester Institute of Technology. The camouflaged runabout was spotted in a parking lot on the university’s grounds.
As you may recall, the Chevy Beat was the most popular of a trio of concepts (Beat,Groove & Trax) that Chevy showed to the world at last years New York Auto Show. Based on General Motors’ new global mini-car platform, the Beat was originally designed to be the sportiest of the triplets with only two doors and a 1.2L 16-valve DOHC inline-four cylinder,turbocharged petrol engine mated to either a manual or automatic gearbox.
Speculation has it, that the Chevrolet Beat will be launched in the Korean markets first, as a four door version and without a turbocharger. The production is set to take place there in mid-2009, but with GM struggling to make its ends meet even after receiving the bail-out package, delays should be inevitable.
The latest edition of AutoBild magazine has a rendering of the Chevrolet Beat, along with 24 other cars. Grab a copy- it’s an exciting read full of eye candy.
