DC Avanti is the first sports car to be engineered in India not bothering most of its parts outsourced. DC tries to bring out a sports car that is good at performance and well suited to Indian driving conditions.
Supercars are ultimately impractical in India because of the bumpy, uneven roads that often have speed bumps which low clearance cars struggle to get through. The low fuel quality is also a major reason that does not favor sports car in India. Most of the sports car end up a souvenier of riding enthusiasm in the millionaire’s garage doing just a few thousand kilometers at max that too between selected stretch or in the race track and not for real travel purposes. Many of us would dream of getting better roads in India some day soon to see the super cars roam around but that is not to be seen any time soon. So there is only one way to have a supercar in India, design it for Indian roads with high ground clearance and better fuel efficiency.
DC undoubtedly is not the world-famous DC Comics, it is an aftermarket re-designer for cars. In fact, the best in the country. DC Design was found by Dilip Chhabria the lead designer and the mastermind behind the DC Avanti. DC Avanti was aimed to be an affordable supercar alternative that could do city rides unlike Lamborghini and Bugatti having very low ground clearance. It was also aimed to be much cheaper than the existing sports cars. Let us see what DC has brought to the table and how well does it fair in the real world.
Also Check:Â Volkswagen Polo GT TSI
DC Avanti Design and Styling
The design is were DC has proved to be the best, after all, that is where they started. The design looks stunning with a sharp nose and a short bonnet to the front. The rear is long like any other sports car with aerodynamics letting the air to go around and without much friction. The car looks muscular and does not fail to impress you from the first look onwards. The body is made of high-tech carbon fiber crafted in-house by people who also did it for ISRO.
The car is a 2-seater sports car with the tight doors short body and a high ground clearance of 165mm which is pretty high in sport car standards. Tyres are large and add to the boldness of the car while the black top and the black line running at the centre of the bonnet adds a nice touch to it. The halogen headlamps look gorgeous and through enough light.
DC Avanti Engine and Performance
The heart of the car is a 2 litre, 4 Cylinder, 16V, Turbocharged Petrol engine mount on the mid-section of the chassis which is a typical sports car character. The engine outputs power delivery of 250 bhp and 340 Nm of torque at 2700 – 5000 RPM. The car drives from the rear. What is unusual for a race car is a manual gearbox, a 6-speed manual gearbox is the only option available as of now. All this machinery and the body is held by a very effective box section chassis.
The engine feels small to put under the name of a sports car. Sure, it stretches its wings at the mid-range and the top end but not in the level of a sports car. After being impressed by a stunning design, sporty interiors this is not expected from the engine. However, the engine offers a 10km/l fuel efficiency which translates into 7 or 8km/l. The gearbox feels a little hard and lower RPMs require a lot of gearshifts. The zero to 100 km/h is done in 7.7 secs and does a top speed of 250km/h.
Also Check:Â Mahindra Marazzo Review
DC Avanti Brakes, Suspension and Ride Quality
The large 20-inch wheels get all discs, 300mm on the front and 295mm or the rear. DC Avanti also has ABS and EBD which seems to work well. The breaks are outsourced too and the tires are from Wheels India. They serve good for most of the purposes be it city ride or cruising through the highway.
The flat bottom, three spooked steering wheel feels rightly positioned and sized and offers good control. The brakes are on point but the brake pedal feels tight initially. Putting around corners you don’t feel much body roll or lean, thanks to the low centre of gravity of the car. However,planted it feels the cornering doesn’t feel sports car grade.
DC Avanti Interiors and Features
The cabin looks spacious enough from the outside. You do not get the same feeling when you try fitting in especially if you are close to 6 inches. The cabin lacks headroom and the knees are in level with the steering because of the lesser distance between the roof and base. The base is obviously raised to offer better rideability and the top is kept low to retain the sport car looks which has made it terrible for people above 6 feet. The front view is sufficient, Â not the same with the rear view which is just three slit openings. The car comes without a storage space of any sorts. The glovebox even is very small just to house your sunglasses and there is the small area behind the seats to throw in a few books.
The interiors feel plush and well designed. You can customize the interiors to your taste from DC Design. The infotainment system is a touchscreen media player with a nice sound system. Rear parking sensors are present. Driving modes can be changed which is common among mid-range cars even. Safety feature includes the basic ABS and dual front airbags.
Verdict
This is great offering considering it is a debut sports car from a car designer. They have done well what they intended to do in most cases but it is the cost-cutting decisions and design options that hold back the DC Avanti in the ladder of a sports car. Offering the car with more powerful engine and improving on storage will sure bring in more customers. This mid-range car (rightly positioned) is priced at 48 lakhs ex-showroom much higher than the expected 35 lakhs price tag which is still a good bargain if the performance is enough and you wish to rock a sporty looking car for your daily travel.
