A redesigned version of India’s no-frills Nano minicar will come to the United States in three years, said Ratan Tata, the billionaire boss of that country’s giant Tata Group.
“The U.S. is a very enticing market,” Tata said in an interview. “We are redesigning the Nano for both Europe and the U.S.”
It will get a bigger engine and “more bells and whistles,” including such features as power steering and traction control. Tata said it will be priced below $10,000.
At 122 inches long, it is nearly two feet shorter than a Mini, and it has a two-cylinder, rear-mounted engine with 37 hp. Tata, whose company owns Jaguar and Land Rover, conceived the Nano as the world’s cheapest car. It went on sale in 2009 with a price tag of about $2,500.
It will need 50 more hp, once they add all of the required safety things to the car. I remember when Bob Lutz took a test drive in some 3rd world mini-truck. It was dirt cheap, and incredibly unsafe, but that’s what the market demanded where it was sold.
