[wheelguy]

The electric successor to the Avanti is currently in development and will hit the roads in 2022.

DC TCA concept showcased at Auto Expo 2018

The DC Avanti was the first Indian sports car, completely build and productionised in India by DC Design. The mid-engined car priced at Rs 45 lakh was launched in 2015 and it had the RenaultSport 2-litre turbo-charged four-cylinder engine with 250bhp. Yes, the Avanti had its flaws, but it wasn’t bad for a first attempt. Fast forward a few years to the 2018 Auto Expo and DC showcased the TCA — a successor to the Avanti with a bunch of improvements both on the outside and inside. Today Dilip Chhabria joined us on our daily #evoConversations Instagram Live and exclusively revealed that the TCA is being electrified, and if all goes to plan, it will go on sale sometime in 2022 for a price of around Rs 40 lakh.

Dilip went on to share quite a few details about the TCA. The car is still in its development stage which means that some of these figures may change before it hits production. The development work on the electric powertrain is being done in Switzerland and while the 0 to 100kmph has been reported at a “conservative” 5.5 seconds, a time of 4 seconds is on the radar. The chassis and body of the TCA are ready, the development and fabrication of the interior as well as lighting elements are being worked on, in parallel with the electric powertrain. In the current economic environment DC expects the electric TCA to go on sale in a year and a half so we are looking at 2022 before this hits the road.

Yes, DC could have just made some minor improvements to the Avanti and sold it as the TCA but Dilip was adamant that they could do a much better job than they did on the Avanti. The new tax reforms for electric cars have also helped — the Avanti attracts 53 per cent GST while the TCA will only attract five per cent. So, while the cost to produce the TCA might be slightly higher, it will end up being more affordable. Another advantage of the TCA is that it will be made in India. This means cheaper cost of production as opposed to other sportscars and will allow DC to export the TCA to international markets.

Source

[KL01toKA03]

For anyone to consider buying this car, DC must guarantee good after-sales service. Even if they do that reliability will remain a big concern.

I don't think this will ever enter production. This looks like an attempt to generate publicity to fund their new company DC2.

[GTO]

There are a couple of problems with this ambitious project of DC.

1. DC Designs is bankrupt - link (DC Design in talks with carmakers for capital infusion. EDIT: Runs out of cash). How the heck are they going to develop the car with a damaged reputation & no funds? I agree with KL01toKA03 - this supposed EV seems to be more of an attempt to raise funds than anything else.

2. No one wanted to buy the Avanti with a proper engine. I doubt anyone will even bother with an electric engine.

3. The fit, finish & overall quality were appalling.

4. The Avanti wasn't exactly fun to drive and lacked even basic safety features which the Maruti Alto has (i.e. airbags). Please give me any sorted 10-lakh rupee hatchback or 15-lakh rupee sedan over this wannabe sports car.

5. Whoever has owned an Avanti only has horrible tales to share. The Avanti's reputation on the street is effectively zero.

6. No one wanted to buy the Avanti at 35 lakhs. An EV version will only be more expensive. At 45 lakhs, would you rather buy an unsorted electric car with no after-sales support, or a BMW 3-Series / Mercedes C-Class / used 530d?

7. Those pieces of junk have lost about 50% of their value in just 1 year (sample OLX ad).

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

The electric successor to the Avanti is currently in development and will hit the roads in 2022.

I really admire when people build mansions on the clouds with not even a basic foundation stone in place. Export? Where? African rain-forests? Or as a non street legal golf cart in the North Americas? The Avanti didn't even have airbags. Will the TCA have all the safety features that modern cars are mandated to have to be street legal in most developed countries? And who'll buy this over their well engineered home grown products? Nice dream!

Originally Posted by GTO

3. The fit, finish & overall quality were appalling.

Along with the looks! It always looked like a car borrowing tons of design queues from a lot of other "real" sports cars, throwing them in a blender & then dry setting that paste in a quickly put together shape! It had not a single character item that would be remembered. Even Alto has it! Every time I see an Avanti on the road (Yeah we get to see them still, surprising) - first reaction is that of seeing a car unseen before altogether! One just doesn't remember this contraption. (Well then at least the car stays true to DC's body redesigns on other stock cars.)

One can very much plonk battery & motor in a large street car with minor modifications and make it an EV. The Avanti's / TCA's shape & dimensions will not make it a simple exercise. They are boasting of being able to release it in 2022 for sale? At least they should have dreamed realistic so that gullible investors MAY have put some money on table. This is simply too optimistic to appear even remotely real. At least for now considering how long the Avanti was in the making...

[Tassem]

PR Exercise to stay relevant and attract some money. That's what this is. It continues to surprise me how DC is even in business these days. Every design of theirs is incomplete. In that from certain angles, everything looks like an afterthought. If you've seen the Avanti in person you'd know exactly what I mean. That car, at its best, looks like it's a kit car.

I've never once seen a good design from them (No, that Aston Martin was a prototype build, not a full design).

Credit where credit is due, the man's design has a signature look. You will never mistake the bulbous quirky ugliness of a DC kit for anything else. That's for sure.

As for the EV bits and bobs, if it ever comes to fruition (it wont, I hope) I'm sure they'll leverage the relationship built while designing the Mahindra E20. Nothing made me laugh more than when I read that DC conceptualised the exterior design which was then taken over by Reva's in-house (presumably blind) design team.

[landcruiser123]

What a load of baloney. Is this man trying to be India's Elon Musk? I haven't seen a single Avanti on the road in Bangalore, how can this man dream of selling an electric version?

[warrioraks]

This brand has absolutely no desirability quotient. Doubt they will sell even if the price is cut to half.

Also if this is the sort of PR it takes to secure money from lenders/investors - the world has a bigger problem on hand than launch of this car.

[DeKay]

The ORVM on the concept comes from a Hyundai Verna. Do I need to say anything more? A car designer that can't even design a bespoke rear view mirror. Well done, DC!

[Kosfactor]

Fit and finish is an area that even largest of car brands struggle with, it's one thing to design fancy exterior, Interiors etc but putting them together with quality is no easy task. A company like DC may not even know what it takes to achieve that levels of quality, can't blame them as well but at the same time do not expect customers to pay big money for poor quality.

[paramesh3210]

Originally Posted by DeKay

The ORVM on the concept comes from a Hyundai Verna. Do I need to say anything more? A car designer that can't even design a bespoke rear view mirror. Well done, DC!

I'm not supporting DC here. But a thought! They might have done this to swap the part directly from an OEM in an unfortunate incident?

Creating own design means more production / operating cost? Am I right in saying that?

[Guna]

What is the manufacturing process for such cars which are produced in such small numbers. I don't think they would have invested in dies (for pressing the metal panels and injection moulding plastic parts). If they achieve this by tinkering (which I think they do for the customised cars), they will not only be structurally inferior, they also will start showing ugly spots and joints in no time. Other possibility is that the exterior panels would are been made with FRP, which again would be crude and flimsy.
Only a die hard DC fan would spend his/her money (or a 'not so successful' Bollywood celebrity who has spare parking slot) on this car.

[Raulspace999]

DC did try to sell the 'supercar dream' to a common man aspiring to own a super car someday. However, the execution was pathetic and as has been rightly pointed out by GTO the quality was appalling. From an enthusiasts perspective I dont see any reason as to why any one will spend on this contraption rather than going for a used Porsche Boxster. I believe many of you will recollect the recent thread on the used yellow boxster on this forum which in my opinion made a lot of sense and was an excellent buy.

I vividly remember DC as being the goto car designer for the Bollywood junta. My early impressions of DC were the santro-isque red hatchback which made a brief appearance in the bollywood flick 'Dil to Pagal Hai'. It was quite aspirational for a 90s kid to see the hologram 'DC' inscribed on some of the newest sedans launched in late 90s. the design language had the uniqueness to boast about. Also until a couple of years back he was heavily into modding vanity vans for top bollywood actors. The markup which he used to charge by plonking additional equipment into vans and innovas was indeed exorbitant but then the 'DC' tag came with a snob factor in its own right.

The final nail in the coffin came when he ventured into unchartered territory(read: tuning and modding engine specs) which proved to be a death knell for his company and his ambitious projected bolstered under India's 'Make in India' initiative didn't help matters.

Mr. Dilip Chhabria was and is a car designer in his own right who added aesthetics and appeal to mass production models which made such models stand out. I guess he should've stuck to that. Period.

[Furebo]

Originally Posted by GTO

Those pieces of junk have lost about 50% of their value in just 1 year (sample OLX ad).

All said and done, I like the unique proposition in terms of looks.

It is attention-grabbing and seems like a decent effort.

I was thinking of taking the plunge (At a fair price, factoring the risk)

Service and reliability remain my concern, what are your thoughts if one decides to pick this up?