Rumours are rife that Tata Motors is planning to come up with a new hatchback and a sub-four-metre sedan under its new product offensive initiative called as ‘Project Falcon’. As per Autocar India, the new vehicles are reportedly based on the company’s existing X1 platform. Notably, X1 platform currently underpins the on-sale models like Vista and Manza. However, according to company insiders, the upcoming cars that are based on Falcon initiative shall bear no resemblance with any of the existing Tata products. In fact, on the contrary, Tata Motors is planning to drop the current Vista and Manza car models in order to give a fresh lease of life to the brand.
Tata Motors have seen a cold response to its ageing and dry product range. As such, the vehicles of Tata are struggling to gauge the dynamisms of the Indian automobile market owing to the low demand. Thus, it was high time for the Indian home gown major to stage a comeback move in order to make its products more accessible among buyers in India. The ‘Project Falcon’ is one such initiative that the company is considering to revive its fortune in the passenger car market. It must be mentioned that Tata Motors is less likely to use 'Falcon' in the product name of upcoming car models as the word only denotes the project designation undertaken by the car manufacturer.
Codenamed as ‘Falcon 4’, the first vehicle that is currently in the developing phase is a hatchback. The upcoming hatchback is reported to carry design made by the company’s European design studio. It is supposed to eventually replace Vista once it is put-on for sales towards the end of 2014. The hatchback is expected to be available in both, petrol and diesel versions. The diesel version is likely to be powered by the same engine used in Vista. However, the petrol version is likely to be propelled by a new 1.2-litre turbo-petrol mill that is based on the current Xeta engine. Notably, this new engine will be the base powertrain for the engine family that Tata Motors is trying to develop. In future, it is likely to include large capacity engines and direct fuel injection system.
The new sub-four-metre saloon is very much on company cards too. This vehicle that is coded named as 'Falcon 5' is more or less likely to replace the existing Manza. It will be placed above the currently available Indigo eCS once it is put on sale next year. The diesel version of this vehicle is likely to use Manza’s 89 bhp, Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre diesel engine. However, just like Falcon 4, the petrol version of Falcon 5 is expected to get its power from the new 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine that can generate power output in excess of 100 bhp.
The Falcon 5 is likely to be launched couple of months before the launch of Falcon 4. Going by rumours, the auto maker would be launching these two new vehicles around the festive season in 2014. The models might first mark their appearance at the 2014 Auto Expo to be held in India.
Source: Autocar India
