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Old 15th July 2018, 10:22   #1
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Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

I remain skeptical as building a hypercar requires enormous experience & resources - the type that even industry giants like Mercedes or VAG would have to dig deep for. Just making a car crash-safe would require hundreds of crores and an army of experts. Making the car 'behave' at 200+ kmph would need a similar allocation. Turbines & electric propulsion? That's another FAT cheque. While I have my doubts, I also wish him all the best and hope that this car sees the light of the day.

This is Vazirani Automotive's Shul. It's a great looking car, but little more than a mere concept today. They're going to have to do more than just tall claims to win our belief.

Excerpts from their press release (official website here):
Quote:
Utilising a revolutionary Jet Turbine Electric powertrain encased in a suit of carbon-fibre, we are addressing this problem. Since the turbine acts as an onboard generator, charging the batteries on the go, we get the opportunity to use a lightweight battery pack. This not only reduces the weight considerably but also addresses range anxiety and adds a sound element to elevate user experience. The mission is to make an electric car so sexy and engaging that we can transition even the most stubborn petrol heads to a cleaner future.

The company’s emphasis in design stems from our founder, Chunky Vazirani’s passion for design. “I've been an art lover but for me cars are the greatest form of art because they have movement, they almost come alive.” He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in California and worked as a designer around the world at Land Rover, Volvo and Yamaha, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce.

Developed under the guidance of Kazunori Yamauchi and his team at Gran Turismo, the Shul marks the beginning of a new category in the game called ‘Inspire Gran Turismo’. The company will also work closely with India’s first and only Formula One team to further develop the Shul. “I am delighted to see the launch of the first ever Indian Supercar. Sahara Force India is the first and only Indian entry in the Formula One World Championship and the team has achieved fourth place in 2016 and 2017. It is only logical for us to collaborate with Vazirani Automotive to advise mainly with aerodynamic design and participate in this important milestone in Indian automotive engineering.”- Dr. Vijay Mallya, team principal of the Sahara Force India Formula One Team.

The Shul is currently being showcased at the Michelin stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the U.K until 15th July.
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Last edited by GTO : 15th July 2018 at 10:23.
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Old 15th July 2018, 10:27   #2
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
While I have my doubts, I also wish him all the best and hope that this car sees the light of the day.
True that, however, I see some light at the end of the l-o-n-g tunnel since they seem to be closely working and collaborating with the Force India team and if that goes well, things like braking, suspension, steering etc can be easier to design/borrow.

My apprehension with such non OEM concepts is their lack of runway thereby resulting in a lot of them getting nowhere in a few years.
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Old 15th July 2018, 20:26   #3
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
I remain skeptical as building a hypercar requires enormous experience & resources - the type that even industry giants like Mercedes or VAG would have to dig deep for. Just making a car crash-safe would require hundreds of crores and an army of experts. Making the car 'behave' at 200+ kmph would need a similar allocation. Turbines & electric propulsion? That's another FAT cheque. While I have my doubts, I also wish him all the best and hope that this car sees the light of the day.
Vazirani worked at Jaguar before. I wonder if he has links with technical team of Jaguar - the creator of C-X75 hypercar concept (now cancelled).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_C-X75

It was supposed to be powered by a turbine electric engine. Propulsion concept seems to be quite similar:

Quote:
It is powered by four 145 kW (194 hp) electric motors – one for each wheel – which produce 780 hp (582 kW) and a total torque output of 1,600 N⋅m (1,180 lbf⋅ft). Inherent in the drivetrain is the ability to independently drive each wheel across the full speed range, known as Torque Vectoring.[10][11] Each motor weighs 50 kilograms (110 lb).[5] The micro gas turbines from Bladon Jets generate enough electricity to extend the range of the car to 900 km (559 mi) while producing 28 grams of CO2 per kilometre on the EU test cycle.
About micro turbine engines for cars:



Website: http://www.bladonjets.com/technology/micro-turbines/

Quote:
It is only logical for us to collaborate with Vazirani Automotive to advise mainly with aerodynamic design and participate in this important milestone in Indian automotive engineering.”- Dr. Vijay Mallya, team principal of the Sahara Force India Formula One Team.
oh good. Mallyas are involved.

Last edited by SmartCat : 15th July 2018 at 20:49.
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Old 15th July 2018, 23:20   #4
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
I remain skeptical as building a hypercar requires enormous experience & resources - the type that even industry giants like Mercedes or VAG would have to dig deep for.
I doubt that VAG or Mercedez and the likes would ever dig for creating a hypercar although they do invest in hypercars and sportscars but sportscars sell. Hypercars find only a few buyers (exclusivity factor).

'India's first hypercar' looks a bit overstyled to me. If it doesn't have the performance to match, many will be disappointed. Koenigsegg is my first love among hypercars but I doubt that anyone would be able to keep up with the Lex Luthor of cars. I still wish nothing but the best for Vazirani Automotive and hope they will be able to find buyers for their hypercar.
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Old 16th July 2018, 03:53   #5
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
I remain skeptical as building a hypercar requires enormous experience & resources - the type that even industry giants like Mercedes or VAG would have to dig deep for. Just making a car crash-safe would require hundreds of crores and an army of experts. Making the car 'behave' at 200+ kmph would need a similar allocation. Turbines & electric propulsion? That's another FAT cheque. While I have my doubts, I also wish him all the best and hope that this car sees the light of the day.

This is Vazirani Automotive's Shul. It's a great looking car, but little more than a mere concept today. They're going to have to do more than just tall claims to win our belief.
Your skepticism is well placed. It takes some serious investment to bring a concept like this to life.
I wish them all the best as well though!

Quote:
Originally Posted by typlo View Post
I doubt that VAG or Mercedez and the likes would ever dig for creating a hypercar although they do invest in hypercars and sportscars but sportscars sell. Hypercars find only a few buyers (exclusivity factor).
You're kidding right?

Bugatti (Owned by VAG) dug so deep while creating the Veyron, that they sold every single car at a loss to the company. Lamborghini (Owned by VAG) spend millions of euros in R&D on the latest hypercar technology to create one offs like the Reventon, Veneno, Centenario etc.

Mercedes on the other hand has dug deep to create the AMG Project One Hypercar

There's no need for speculation on this topic. It is a fact that companies have to dig deep in order to create Hypercars, hence GTO's remark, and the same applies to Koenigsegg.

P.S: I'm also a huge fan of Koenigsegg, and of Christian Von Koenigsegg as well

Cheers

Last edited by Joxster : 16th July 2018 at 04:00. Reason: Adding PS
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Old 16th July 2018, 07:31   #6
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

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You're kidding right?
Yes. VAG does own a lot of hypercar companies but those companies made great hypercars much before VAG acquired them (as much as the resources allowed, although most of them went defunct). I was referring to the mainstream. Just wanted to say they don't exactly "dig" to create hypercars because they're primarily businesses, but they do it on the side just to capture the elite market (they have the added bonus of great resources available at their hand too). Your point only complements what GTO mentioned, i.e, hypercars require massive resources to be done right.

Regardless, I'm very happy to see an Indian company reaching for this.

P.S: You are technically correct though!

Last edited by typlo : 16th July 2018 at 07:38. Reason: Adding PS
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Old 16th July 2018, 09:28   #7
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

I'd rather see more automobiles startups like Ather Energy, than companies like this, who all want to be the next Koenigsegg. There might not be much glamour in making mass-production cars and bikes, but unless someone does, there will be none expect the current players and MNCs to take advantage of India's vast future potential.

Speaking of gas-turbine electrics, such a motive power was for a time experimented in trains and many designs were operational. Including this one, Amtrak's TurboTrain.

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Old 16th July 2018, 10:22   #8
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

If you had the money will you buy a Hyper car from India, China, Bangladesh or Europe?

Would you be willing to put down money on a hyper car from an unknown manufacturer?

Heck, would you buy even an ordinary car from an unknown manufacturer?
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Old 16th July 2018, 10:37   #9
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

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Originally Posted by AMG Power View Post
If you had the money will you buy a Hyper car from India, China, Bangladesh or Europe?

Would you be willing to put down money on a hyper car from an unknown manufacturer?

Heck, would you buy even an ordinary car from an unknown manufacturer?
There are plenty of "Boutique" car manufacturers around the world creating brilliant one offs and limited runs which pander to the ultra elite. It doesn't matter (majorly) where the car comes from, it is mostly a blend of how expensive it is, how outlandish the car looks and how much bite there is to all the bark(performance). Ultimately it all comes down to how suave the marketing and sales team is for the company. The sort of buyers who'd go for uber exclusive cars rarely have to worry about the price. Im not talking 918 buyers or Chiron buyers, but the kind of people who go for a Lycan, or commission Ferrari or Rolls Royce to build them a one-off bespoke chariot to match their mega Yacht.

I feel this car would suit such a person's collection rather well if and when it sees the light of (a track) day.
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Old 16th July 2018, 11:33   #10
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

Looks better finished than the DC Avanti to start with. I hope this one project takes off and then the Vazirani is bought by the biggies of automobile industry (I have a feeling that this is what Vazirani has in mind)
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Old 16th July 2018, 12:30   #11
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

Quote:
Utilising a revolutionary Jet Turbine Electric powertrain encased in a suit of carbon-fibre, we are addressing this problem. Since the turbine acts as an onboard generator, charging the batteries on the go, we get the opportunity to use a lightweight battery pack. This not only reduces the weight considerably but also addresses range anxiety and adds a sound element to elevate user experience. The mission is to make an electric car so sexy and engaging that we can transition even the most stubborn petrol heads to a cleaner futur
I hate to say, but there is nothing revolutionary about a Jet Turbine Electric Powertrain. It's all been done before. It also failed miserably in automative applications. Without the batteries there are of course many succesfull naval applications of Jet Turbine electric propulsion. If you need a lot of power, a low weight and volume and fuel efficiency isnt a major concern, this is the way to go.

We will have to hear the thing in real life, but the
Quote:
adds a sound element to elevate user experience
is more likely to be akin an extremely loud screeching wail. This is of course the problem with a jet engine. They are very, very noisy. Although I am an aviation buff and a pilot, I have yet to hear a jet engine sound that I actually like. In essence it is always a racket. No other word to describe it. No way a jet engine is going to be sounding better than say a V8. It will be louder, but that's about it!

It will remain to be seen how green this car will be too. It has a small battery pack and a jet engine. Which means most likely the jet engine needs to kick in a lot. And a Jet engine, compared to conventional car engines, are not considered to be very effecient.

But we will see. Always good to see somebody doing the unusual. Gooddies to him and good luck. Car looks interesting enough

Jeroen

Last edited by Jeroen : 16th July 2018 at 12:31.
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Old 26th September 2018, 17:31   #12
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Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

The car has been officially unveiled today.

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/vazirani-...-india-1922544

Last edited by Arjun Reddy : 26th September 2018 at 17:33.
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Old 27th September 2018, 01:09   #13
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Re: Vazirani Automotive claims to be building India's 1st Hypercar

Some videos from the unveil today -



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