The Tata Nano's ailing sales need a shot in the arm and we expect the upcoming diesel version to deliver exactly that.
The long overdue diesel model which was originally supposed to be out by now was reportedly marred by development bottlenecks. Tata has been testing the diesel Nano for quite long. The car is expected to be launched after the CNG version is released.
Mr. Shubham N. Ghute, our avid reader from Satara presents us this set of spyshots of the Tata Nano diesel which was spotted on the Pune to Satara highway. One of the wheels has "Diesel" written on it, making the decoding simpler for us!
The diesel engine which is expected to be a turbocharged 800cc unit could enable the lightweight hatchback to reclaim its title as India's most fuel efficient car. We expect a 5-speed transmission to be mated to the oil burner.
Along with the new engine, the Nano is heading for a facelift and that explains the camouflaged front and rear fascias. The opening in front camouflage reveals a new honeycomb mesh for the air dam.
The changes to the rear fascia are more interesting since there lies a hint of a proper rear hatch door. There is a small protrusion below the wind shield which appears to be a keyhole. The rear bumper is also new and features bigger cooling area. The interior looks similar to the current model except for the placement of the hazard light switch on the dashboard and the comet trail design on the door trims.
Tata Motors would be banking heavily on the diesel variant to spike sales numbers of the little runabout which is seeing sales dwindle steadily.
