[jeepster]

Originally Posted by ajmat

It is a direct rip off from the Renault Espace using contessa mechanicals. Any attempt to put it in production might have seen copyright issues.

+1

Originally Posted by VRPAI

The car was made sometime in 1998-99,way before the Innova came into the picture. So I guess copy rights couldn't have been the issue.

As ajmat said the exterior was directly copied from Renault Espace MK1 facelift.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rena...pace#Espace_F1

Which infringes the copyrights of Renault.

[Viju]

Originally Posted by VRPAI

I guess you mistook Rajah as 'Kajah'. Rajah motors is basically a workshop which was in Kerala.

Not really. ajmat is correct. Rajah Motors, Kajah Beedi - all are owned by Rajah Group based in Chavakkad.

Wiki says:
Kajah Beedi is an iconic beedi brand from Thrissur in Kerala, India. The company is situated in Chavakkad in Thrissur District. The brand is owned by Kajah Beedi Company of Rajah Group. The company was started in 1948 by Hajee A Abdul Kader Sahib. Around 45,000 workers are working in this company.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaja_Beedi

Financial Express dated July 17, 1998 says:
Rajah Motors, part of the Rs 50-crore beedi major Rajah Group, will roll out Kazwa, the first multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in the country on Saturday. The company will start full-fledged commercial production of the vehicle next month. The Chavakkad-based small scale unit is also planning to introduce a small car by the year 2000.
Source: http://expressindia.indianexpress.co...19955084p.html

[TheStranger]

Originally Posted by Viju

I remember looking at the Magna concept in an old edition of Auto India and I found it really good looking back then......

The Magna was initiated as Tata's big car project but as like other Tata concepts, it was still born. A discussion on the Magna can be found on our own forum here :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ata-magna.html

Also, there was the Tata Elegante concept, a concept car that was displayed by Tata Motors during the 2007 Geneva Motor Show. It met with a similar fate as the Magna. In retrospect, the Manza seems to have borrowed a lot of design cues form the Elegante.

Link :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Elegante

Another notable concept was The Tata Prima sedan. The Tata Pr1ma is a concept luxury sedan designed by Pininfarina and built by Tata Motors. It is based on the Tata Indigo's wheelbase. It was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show 2009.

Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Pr1ma

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/54477-tata-prima-luxury-sedan.html

[Karthik Chandra]

Found an interesting article while browsing.

Face-off between Innova and Kazwa by overdrive.

Attachment 1515987

Kazwa engine bay

Attachment 1515990

Dashboard

Attachment 1515989

http://overdrive.in/features/toyota-...v-kajah-kazwa/

The below article is by Shapur Kotwal of Autocar India

Attachment 1515985

Interiors; looks very spacious

Attachment 1515991



http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...light-day.html

[procrastinator]

Originally Posted by Vikki@Hyderabad

Maybe because Maruti launched the Ritz?

Ritz was launched in 2009 while Modus was seen in 2011
Here's the link

[Karthik Chandra]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

Found an interesting article while browsing

Attaching pictures

Face-off between Innova and Kazwa by overdrive.



Kazwa engine bay



Dashboard



Excerpts

'At 30mm wider than the Innova, the Kazwa was spacious, especially in the second (of three) rows. Locally sourced, wide and comfortable seats were standard — Shony has two of those in his Qualis because he loves them so much — and the top model (like this one) had power windows, power steering and power mirrors. All of which worked on this one flawlessly. On the options list were, get this, a sunroof and even alloy wheels. It even had standard air-conditioning with a rear blower. Of course, it all looks a little old now, especially the chronologically correct dials and steering wheel.'

'Then I cranked the engine and woke the 2.0-litre turbodiesel under the hood. Hindustan Motors were responsible for supplying the powertrain, suspension and the braking systems — all Contessa bits. The Kazwa’s peak power — 72PS — is a respectable number'

http://overdrive.in/features/toyota-...v-kajah-kazwa/

The below article is by Shapur Kotwal of Autocar India



Interiors; looks very spacious





Priced at 6.50 lacs - 7.25 lacs . This is very expensive considering this MPV was to be produced in 1998

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...light-day.html

[VRPAI]

Originally Posted by Viju

Not really. ajmat is correct. Rajah Motors, Kajah Beedi - all are owned by Rajah Group based in Chavakkad.

Originally Posted by jeepster

+1



As ajmat said the exterior was directly copied from Renault Espace MK1 facelift.[indent]Attachment 1515876

Sorry for putting out the wrong info, and thanks for correcting me.

[five46]

And then there was also this Kinetic City, which almost made it to the market.

Here's something which I managed to dig about it with google baba's help.

Kinetic Small Car
Life in the slow, slow lane
Engine capacity: 480 cc
Maximum power: 16 bhp
Price: Rs 1.25 lakh approx.
Launch date: early 1998

The joker in the pack. It's really, really cheap. But then don't expect anything more than a sophisticated auto rickshaw. The body is based on a French micro car called the Aixam and made of what you could loosely call sophisticated plastic. Too basic to be called a real car, it is an alternative to a two-wheeler. The car struggles to reach its top speed of 65 km ph. All in all, abandon any hopes of cruising the highways with the Kinetic. Surprisingly, it might also run into a pricing problem. As second-hand car prices crash, you might get a relatively new Maruti 800 for the same price.

Link

The Pune -based Kinetic Engineering have priced their yet-to-be-named 500 cc city car at Rs 1.25 lakh expecting the government to levy 15 per cent excise duty on it. Currently, car manufacturers have to pay excise at the rate of 40 per cent.

Said Arun Firodia, chairman and managing director of Kinetic Engineering, we have urged the government to impose a 15 per cent excise duty, similar to the rate which exists on two-wheelers, since it is a 500 cc car and is aimed at providing a safer and more affordable alternative to a two-wheeler. We except the government to favourably consider our proposal. However, if the government does not allow the concession, the cost of the Kinetic city car is likely to go up to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Kinetic Engineering will formally launch its two-seater car during the forthcoming Auto Expo98 to be held in Delhi between January 15 and 21. The company plans commercial launch within the next nine months and expects to sell up to 2000 cars in the first year.

The engine is being imported from Daihatsu-Briggs Straton of Japan. The idea behind aiming for a modest volume is to contain the adverse effects in the event of a further depreciation in the value of the rupee, Firodia said. In the second year, we plan to sell nearly 10,000 cars, he said. he car is running 20 kms to a litre under test conditions and is expected to run 17 kms to a litre on city roads.

Link

And an interesting article about the same in Milwaukee newspaper here.

[Vikki@Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by procrastinator

Ritz was launched in 2009 while Modus was seen in 2011
Here's the link

I realize/d that. But what I meant was the side profile and the rear, to an extent, is very similar to the Ritz, which might have led Renault to decide that it wouldn't do much good. Just an opinion.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by five46

And then there was also this Kinetic City, which almost made it to the market.

Thanks for pointing this out as well. It was an Aixam (French micro-car manufacturer) design and here are a couple of photos of the same:





Excerpt from the Source:

Aixam is France’s largest Microcar manufacturer with about 40% of the French market. This particular Aixam is unique because it was made in India by the Indian scooter maker Kinetic. Speculation is that this must have been a joint venture where Kinetic used the basic design of the Aixam A550 and modified it to make a very low-end car. Instead of the normal 2-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine, Kinetic used a locally-made air cooled V-twin. The body is made of low-quality plastic with some square tubing for reinforcement. The rear brake lines are coiled instead of using a standard brake hose to save money. Thankfully the top speed is a mere 40 mph. This apparently proved to not be a good joint venture as neither Aixam nor Kinetic has any info on the making of this car.

[Leoshashi]

Pre Production SS80:





Had posted this on the SS80 thread, but since it's a special little car, it deserves a special mention in this thread too. Hence the duplicate post.

The date of first registration shows as September 1983, hence it is definitely a pre production prototype. The number plate is another hint, the first M800 had DIA 6479 as its registration number.

[Leoshashi]

Suzuki Twin- Maruti had displayed it in some cities to gather feedback. As per some friends, this had a 660cc Hybrid engine, and its import cost back in the early 2000s was close to 13Lacs. It was a twin seater car.

[fazayal]

Chevrolet Beat Activ, Chevrolet Essentia and Chevrolet Spin. Were supposed to be launched before Chevrolet announced exit from India.

[agbenny]

Wagon R -7 seater. There were pics across magazines and Auto portal during 2018-20. But this had never come. Does the manufacture still has an intention to bring it to roads.

[Blooming Flower]

Which vehicle is this? Any idea? Spotted this near Mohali 2 days back. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture it from front.

It can be a RWD commercial EV. The differential part looks unusual. Also no exhaust was seen.