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Journalism of Courage
They’re calling it ‘the first Indian sports car’. It’s the Chinkara 1.8 S roadster, built by Indian mechanics using Indian parts for driving on Indian roads, and designed by, hang on, a German.
It might not be 100 per cent swadeshi, but it certainly wowed onlookers and media alike on Thursday, as the low-slung black-and-red roadster with nifty silver exhausts curving from its flanks became centre of attention at the 2003 Mumbai Auto Show in Goregaon.
The Chinkara — named after the tiny Asiatic gazelle — is the result of two years’ work by Indo-German couple Shama and Guido Bothe, who built the car from scratch in their Alibaug garage with the aim of creating a sports car tailor-made for India.
Guido (43), the car’s designer, studied Industrial Design in Berlin and calls himself ‘‘German by birth and a resident of Alibaug by choice.’’ He settled in India in 1994. He and Shama (23) were drawn to each other through a mutual love of sports cars. As a child, Shama’s bedroom was covered with posters of them and she dreamed of driving one when she grew up.
‘‘I wanted a sports car,’’ says Shama. ‘‘And I thought a lot of people would want one as well, if it was affordable.’’
Together, they came up with the idea of an Indian sports car, low-priced and suited to Indian conditions. Six months into building, the couple married, and the Chinkara became a full-time worry.
‘‘It had to be looked after like a baby,’’ says Shama. ‘‘It was difficult because we were self-financing the company.’’Altogether, the couple have spent around Rs 80-90 lakh developing the car.
With a team of five Indian mechanics, they built the car around easy-to-find Indian parts to make it simple to repair. Guido chose an Isuzu 1,800cc engine that gives the fibreglass-body car a top speed of 180 kmph, but is easy to maintain.
‘‘If your imported sports car breaks down on Indian roads, you’ll be waiting weeks for replacement parts,’’ says Mumbai-born Shama. ‘‘But if you break down in a Chinkara, any village mechanic with a spanner will be able to fix it.’’
They gave the car 16-inch tyres and front and rear suspension to handle India’s tricky roads. ‘‘Wherever a jeep can go, she goes,’’ adds Shama proudly. ‘‘It can take speed-breakers, potholes and sand dunes.’’
Using Indian parts has also kept costs down. The couple is offering to build the Chinkara to order for Indian customers at a starting price of Rs 6.7 lakh.
Auto show visitor Sanjeev Bhatt (40) is impressed: ‘‘If a person is buying a Maruti for Rs 4 lakh, why not pay another two or three lakhs for this?’’ he asks.
‘‘But will he be able to drive it on Mumbai’s roads?’’ he wants to know. ‘‘No. He’ll only be able to use the fifth gear on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.’’
