06 evo india march 2014

PUTTING THE SPORT IN SUV

#06 | March 2014 | ` 100

Looks like an SUV, drives like a sports car!

Porsche Macan is coming soon to India and we've driven it

AUTO EXPO T R E N DS

Compact SUVs, MPVs & sedans • Hatchback crossovers • Premium compacts • Automated manuals • Barrage of concepts & The ` 4.1 lakh Harley

Gang war

Audi RS7 v BMW M6 Gran Coupe 552BHP 4-DOOR ENFORCERS GO HEAD TO HEAD

F1'S NEW ERA

Turbo engines, weird noses: we're at 2014's first test

SANTA FE

Hyundai goes upmarket with its CR-V & Fortuner fighter

ISSUE 06 MARCH 2014

CONTENTS

118 ARUNACHAL FESTIVAL OF SPEED

“Rallying is always an adventure. Every event is in a different part of the country, you face different challenges but one thing remains the same – it is always immense fun” 4

evo India | March 2014

ISSUE 06 MARCH 2014

Features

082

068

AUDI RS7 SPECIAL

A 4-door saloon more powerful than the R8 V10 Plus. We’re still shaking with excitement after driving it. Oh, we also pit it against the BMW M6 Gran Coupe (GC)

082 PORSCHE MACAN

Compact SUVs are in - and we check out Porsche’s take on this genre

088 2014 VALLEY RUN

Homegrown heroes and alien creations blitz the quartermile in the quest for straight-line supremacy

098 CORVETTE C7

Driven

Ridden

040

124

KAWASAKI Z800

048

H-D STREET GLIDE

052

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE

108

BMW 3 SERIES GT

F1 TECH

New engines, new designs and all the lowdown on the cars

118

NEWS

134

044

HYUNDAI SANTA FE

We spotlight the freshest and the most exciting creations from the 12th Auto Expo. Also, the shocking NCAP test results for India’s most loved cars

140 144

S63 AMG v XJR

040

Regulars 008

NEWS

MARUTI SUZUKI CELERIO

American muscle never falls out of fashion. The Stingray put through its paces in sunny California

068

058 COLUMNS

134

FESTIVAL OF SPEED

Gautam talks Expo, Bob rewinds to the 80s, Bijoy treks into the jungle and Gaurav jet hops into Arunachal

066

The Arunachal hills reverberate with the sound of revved up rally cars

LETTERS

Readers wax eloquent on the lack of road safety and safe cars in India

147 INDIA BIKE WEEK

150

India’s biggest biking festival in hospitable Goa and a visual kaleidoscope of all the fun and frolic

MOTORSPORT

048

A bird’s eye view of the world’s most gruelling rally. The 2013 MRF Challenge gets an eventful finale and our house racer recalls his escapades behind the wheel of a Toyota race car

160 LONG-TERM TESTS A peep into the Evo X soul, farewell to the Laura, hello to the new CR-V and face-to-face with a Jag XKR

164 EVO KNOWLEDGE

Tips on investing in the monster M3, the latest TomTom Start GPS and WRC 4 console game

180 COLLECTORS EDITION COVER EXCLUSIVE FOR SUBSCRIBERS

ART OF SPEED

NEWS STAND COVER

Scrutinising the Audi Quattro’s intriguing fender design

March 2014 |

evo India

5

Radar

p11

VW TAIGUN

Display concept looked production and Indiaready. Expected in 2015 if VW decides to put the Up! into production

This month

News, new metal, investigations, interviews, technology and more…

AUTO EXPO

2014

This year, India’s very own motor show officially goes on the global map

COMPACT SUVs

Full report

S

Team evo brings you the top trends spotted at the Auto Expo

SIAM WAS AT PAINS TO CONVINCE the press that the 2014 Auto Expo would be unlike the one that preceded it which — everyone seems to agree — was a bit of a disaster in terms of crowd management and space. This year, the motor show moved to a purpose-built expo centre in Greater Noida, while the components show remained at Pragati Maidan in Delhi. With a dedicated press day and wellmanaged crowds and logistics, Team evo India was able to cover maximum ground and bring you the highlights of the show. Day two remained pleasant, but thanks to the inclusion of VIP pass holders, a sizeable chunk of Delhi turned up anyway. The 2014 Auto Expo was interesting by way of the sheer

number of concepts and near-production vehicles on show. After a slow 2013, manufacturers appeared to be in high gear to drum up interest, and consequently, business in the coming year.

Almost every major stall had a surprise/ showstopper in store and sadly, many succumbed to the celebrity appearance cheap trick. L

The downsized SUV - under four metres in length to qualify for excise duty breaks - was the toast of the show, with everyone worth their salt showcasing one intended for, or near production

TATA Nexon

T

TATA MOTORS’ MUCH ANTICIPATED revival begins here. Making its world premiere at the Expo the Nexon is a compact SUV based on a heavily revised Indica Vista platform, similar to what underpins the Zest and Bolt. The production version of the Nexon will compete against the likes of Ford’s EcoSport and Renault’s Duster in addition to the scores of compact SUVs displayed at the Auto Expo.

Visually, the Nexon compact SUV concept does have Indica-esque design cues but is more rugged due to the flared wheelarches, blacked out scuff plate on the bumpers, sloping roofline and rising beltline all of which endow the concept with a crossover look. Larger wheels and a higher ground clearance also lend a tougher image. Being 4000mm in length the Nexon will be eligible for the tax exemptions for sub four-metre cars; other dimensions are 1730mm width, 1600mm height and 2540mm wheelbase, .

The front of the concept looks production ready and features a new Tata family face (gone is the smiley grille) and is suitably butch for a pseudo-

6

evo India | March 2014

FIGO CONCEPT p12

Ford's compact sedan entrant adopts the company's international face. Hatch coming too

p25

BAJAJ U

p30

BMW i8

The Bavarian boffins brought the stunning i8 hybrid supercar to India. And it’s not just a supercar but an electric one

The company insists that this isn't a pure concept and promises a fun, efficient and quick city mobility solution

COMPACT SUVs

HONDA Vision XS-1

T

THERE HAS BEEN MUCH speculation about the Vezel coming to India, but it seems an expensive proposition for our price-sensitive market. In its place will come a compact SUV previewed by the Vision XS-1 concept that made its world premiere.

While the Vezel was based on the Jazz platform, the concept is based on the lower cost platform shared by the Brio, Amaze and Mobilio. The concept looks radically compact borrowing styling cues from the Vezel and the CR-V. The large doors take up most of the side surface area and slide out, ensuring optimum ease of ingress and egress. The rear is a bit of Swedish déjà vu and though the tail lamps look striking, they will be toned

SUV. The rest of the compact SUV including the futuristic interiors will be toned down considerably as it enters production.

The interiors also feature Tata’s new ‘ConnectNext’ philosophy which translates to an array of connectivity solutions including but not limited to Bluetooth calling, live music streaming, smartphone integration, navigation and maps. The Nexon will have the new Revotron 4-pot 1.2-litre turbopetrol engine which is uprated to 108bhp and 170Nm of peak torque mated to Tata’s new F-tronic 5-speed automated manual transmission. Tata claims an impressive fuel economy of 17.8kmpl and an ability to reach a top whack of 180kmph. The diesel will be the Fiat sourced 1.3-litre Multijet making

90bhp and in time could also get the larger 1.6 Multijet that is slated to be made in India. While a concept the Nexon is definitely slated for production and will hit showrooms in

down for production. The concept also features three rows of seats.

Based on Honda’s ‘Man Maximum, Machine Minimum’ philosophy, it will be a segment first when carried over on the production model.

This concept will definitely translate into a production model though it won’t look anything like the XS-1, sharing instead a lot with the Brio/ Amaze/Mobilio line including the platform, interiors and of course the engines including the diesel.

It will be front-wheel drive; fourwheel drive won’t even be on the options list but it will have a higher ground clearance and chunky offroad styling cues. Expect to see this arrive in India only by 2015, Honda Cars India have their hands full this year to meet demand for the City and also to ramp up capacity to launch the Mobilio MPV and Jazz hatchback. L

the next 12 months, adding to Tata Motors’ revival that starts with the Zest and Bolt on the following pages. L March 2014 |

evo India

7

Test location: Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Maruti Suzuki Celerio This new hatch from India’s most prolific car maker puts an automatic gearbox within mass reach WORDS by T U S H A R B U R M A N | P H O T O G R A P H Y by G AU R AV S T H O M B R E

38

evo India | March 2014

Y

YOU HAVE TO HAND IT TO Maruti: they know how to put up a good show. The taxi up to the Umaid Bhavan palace is a spectacle in itself, and somewhat made up for my frenetic morning, in the frantic rush to the airport to replace our editor for this Maruti Celerio press introduction.

Back in the perfect weather of Jodhpur, it all seemed like the beginning of a nice little adventure. My peers and I were in Rajasthan for the hush-hush press drive of the new Maruti Celerio - an unassuming little hatch from the outside, with a bit of clever engineering under the hood. Logic dictates that the Celerio should replace the less-than-popular A-star.

Every new vehicle that matters, rated

This month NEW SANTA FE p44

Hyundai is betting big on the all-new Santa Fe

3 SERIES GT

The touring 3 Series is here and it’s not ugly

p48

S63 AMG v XJR p52

Uber-luxurious heavyweights offer dollops of thrills

KAWASAKI Z800 p134

Kawasaki’s potent middleweight naked unleashed

H-D p140 STREET GLIDE

Harley’s heavy metal rolls over Goa roads at the IBW

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE p144

Retro cool Bonnie casts a spell

The test team As it ends production Team evo pays homage to the Maruti 800 this month by listing their most memorable experience with this icon

SIRISH CHANDRAN

Editor “MAF 3211, among the first Gen 2s. We did 8 Pune-Kerala road trips over 4 years. Sold it before I was tall enough to drive.”

BYRAM GODREJ

Technical editor “I was already driving when the 800 was launched. The best car at the time and a naughty 10-year-old’s dream come true.”

ANIRUDDHA RANGNEKAR

Consulting editor “Growing up, my uncle’s white 800 with a free-flow exhaust and alloy wheels was the most fun car in the world back then.”

The Celerio’s party trick is its unique (for India) automated manual gearbox. The demand for automatics is significant, but sales are often lacklustre due to the perceived inefficiency and costs associated with automatic cars.

Maruti has taken care of both concerns with a unique solution: an electro-hydraulic actuator that piggybacks on the standard manual transmission of the Celerio. The technology isn’t new, and has been used in the past on high-performance cars and even in F1 racing, as Maruti explained. In this avatar, the transmission and its automatic mode are tuned for efficiency rather than outright performance.

The end result is surprisingly seamless, and in operation, the car is much like a regular

automatic. Two pedals, Drive, Neutral, Reverse and manual up/down modes. The only thing missing is a ‘Park’ position on the shifter.

This being my first Maruti event of the kind, I was somewhat unprepared. A band played upon my arrival. Ushered into a massive dining hall, we were registered, provided with Indian wear in festive colours and given an itinerary.

The Celerio is somewhat hard to describe externally, resembling the Indian-market Alto 800, but not quite. It’s nominally the same size as the A-star, but not quite. It has a somewhat smiley front fascia like the Toyota Etios, but not quite. It’s unremarkable, but not unpalatable. It looked sorted at the unveiling and felt as much on our drive. Our first drive was in a maroon

ABHAY VERMA

Asst managing editor “The 800 was the first car I drove on public roads. I didn’t know better back then, but it felt amazingly fast to me.”

ABHIK DAS

Senior correspondent “My favourite as a child was the first-gen in a blue hue. Called it the OX; the DX badge confused me for the longest time.”

ROHAN PAWAR

Publisher “My friend’s brown 800 picked us up from school every day. The strange colour is my most distinct memory of it.”

TUSHAR BURMAN

Managing Editor - Online “I was too young to drive my parents’ red 1984 Maruti 800, so I had my older friends ferry me around. Good times.”

March 2014 |

evo India

39

Audi RS7

60

evo India | March 2014

Audi’s RS7 is a practical, everyday, four-door, four-seat saloon that packs in more horses than the R8 V10 Plus.

This is undoubtedly something special

SPEED

BARON

WO R D S by A B H AY V E R M A | P H O T O G R A P H Y by G AU R AV S T H O M B R E TECHNICAL PARTNERS : RACETECH INDIA

March 2014 |

evo India

61

70

evo India | March 2014

BMW M6 Gran Coupe v Audi RS7

Power Corrupts Audi has kicked off the supercoupe wars with the RS7 but will soon be joined by BMW’s M6 Gran Coupe. Both are prodigiously powerful, stupendously quick and eyewateringly expensive but are they any fun to drive?

WORDS by R I C H A R D M E A D E N P H O T O G R A P H Y by D E A N S M I T H

F

FOR SHEER PRESENCE AND SPECsheet appeal, few cars short of specialist mid-engined exotica are more compelling than the new breed of four-door coupe, represented here by Audi’s imposing RS7 and BMW’s lithe M6 Gran Coupe.

This, then, is a supercoupe slugfest. In the red corner, the RS7 Sportback: a huge, tightly tailored five-door coupe based on the underpinnings of Audi’s formidable RS6 Avant. In the blue corner, the M6 Gran Coupe: a lavish, long-wheelbase four-door evolution of the twodoor M6 Coupe, which in turn is an evolution of BMW’s M5 four-door saloon. Confused? Me too.

We’ll get on to the all-important driving impressions in a moment, but for now ruminate on this: an M5 with a few options is approximately ` 1.2 crore. The M6 Gran Coupe will soon be launched in India and will set you back by approximately ` 1.6 crore. Whether or not you fell backwards off your chair at this revelation is perhaps the most accurate indicator as to whether you’re a prospective M6 GC customer. Personally my head is still reeling. The spec-sheet for this particular car reveals that the basic price has been inflated by a further ` 25 lakh (approx), the headline-grabbers being carbon brakes, M multi-function Left: both M6 Gran Coupe and RS7 pack near-supercar levels of firepower beneath svelte fastback bodywork, and with room for four fully grown adults. So, what’s not to like?

Specification Engine Power Torque 0-100kmph Top speed Price (ex-showroom Mumbai)

seats, BMW Individual Merino leather and Tanzanite Blue metallic paint. That’s big bucks for a Beemer.

The RS7 is pretty punchy, too, when it comes to pricing.

Dropping eight figures on any car is a serious display of wealth, but I suspect that’s precisely what these cars are designed to do. They might wear familiar mainstream badges, but their combination of bulk and bling ensures they never go unnoticed. It’s a sad truth that both these cars seem to attract admiration and resentment in equal measure.

Not so long ago, either of the powertrains concealed within this svelte pair would happily have graced a supercar. Both have prodigious power and torque from twin-turbo V8 engines, the Audi’s displacing 4 litres and developing 552bhp and 700Nm of torque, the M6 boasting slightly greater swept volume at 4.4 litres and making 552bhp and 679Nm. Such firepower makes light of their near-two-ton masses, the Audi just nudging beneath the magic 4sec barrier from zero to 100kmph, the traction-limited M6 GC taking a few tenths longer.

Sadly top speeds are electronically limited to 250kmph, but would doubtless nudge 320kmph given free rein.

Transmission-wise both have double-clutch gearboxes with paddle-shifts. Likewise, both have

BMW M6 GRAN COUPE

AUDI RS7

V8, 4395cc, twin-turbo 552bhp @ 6000-7000rpm 679Nm @ 1500-5750rpm 4.2sec (claimed) 250kmph (limited) ` 1.6 crore(estimated)

V8, 3993cc, twin-turbo 552bhp @ 5700-6600rpm 700Nm @ 1750-5500rpm 3.9sec (claimed) 250kmph (limited) ` 1.29 crore

March 2014 |

evo India

73

MACAN WORDS by M I K E D U F F

IS IT ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE FOR PORSCHE? The launch of the Macan means Porsche will now produce more SUVs each year than the sports cars it is famous for. But are there thrills to be found in this compact SUV, or does it offer little for driving enthusiasts?

I

IT’S H A R D TO K EEP YOUR perspective when on a private jet. Maybe that’s why the motor industry loves them so much, using them to teleport their god-like executives between meetings with minions in different time zones. Or even, on rare occasions, to lug unwashed journalists around the place. Flying non-commercial offers a fleeting glimpse of a beautiful parallel universe, one where there are no queues, passport inspectors are polite and you don’t need to rummage through your pockets to find change if you fancy a sandwich mid-flight.

Porsche flew us here to Leipzig today on a private jet, which was lovely (and must have put a substantial dent in the corporate credit card). It was a far more convenient way to travel than the BudgetAir alternative, but it also helped to instil some of that sense of being in an alternative reality. Maybe even the sort of parallel universe where a new, sub-Cayenne Porsche SUV isn’t just a commercial necessity, but a good idea.

Within the next year, the world’s biggest sports car maker is going to become an SUV manufacturer that produces Boxsters, Caymans and 911s as a profitable sideline. Porsche sold 80,000 Cayennes last year – half its global production – and we’re told that the car you can see here, the Macan, will add at least

76

evo India | March 2014

Porsche Macan

March 2014 |

evo India

75

R E T R A U Q S R E MIL P H O T O G R A P H Y by G AU R AV S T H O M B R E

E

EVIDENTLY, THERE ARE MANY, MANY people apart from Vin Diesel who prefer to live their lives a quarter mile at a time. Buy any account, the Valley Run 2014 at Aamby Valley was a spectacularly attended success, with almost as many people waiting to get in as actually inside the venue. The nature of the drag racing game is gratuitous displays of horsepower, and there was much of that.

The 400-metre run is a great equaliser, with well-heeled squids on exotic machinery being literally left in the dust sometimes by backyard mechanics and their strippeddown Frankenstein creations. Guest of honour Rickey Gadson showed the crowd just why he’s a 11-time AHRA drag racing champion, ripping off 9-second runs on a stock Ninja ZX-14R, while the four-wheeled star of the show was a silver Nissan GT-R with ungodly power that embarrassed Porsches all weekend long.

Above: Cayenne GTS with Dubai plates wasn’t the strangest vehicle there Right: This Nissan GT-R packed in a 1000bhp under its hood and literally smoked everything present over the weekend

82

evo India | March 2014

Above left and above: Sportscars present over the weekend threatened to outnumber the heavily modified Indian cars. Above right: The Slideways Industries Rally Polos were the pilot cars, and were responsible for getting the competitors back from the holding area. Below left: Porsche 911s were a common sight on Sunday. Below: 11-time world drag champion Rickey Gadson launching the 2014 ZX-14R, on which he managed an elapsed time of 9.44 seconds, the fastest quarter mile time in India till date

Each time the Godzilla ran on track, it embarassed whatever was in the next lane

March 2014 |

evo India

81

Corvette Stingray

A

A RED CHEVROLET CORVETTE sits in the sun beside a lonely diner in the desert, right next to Route 66. It feels like a film set – or a horrendous cliché. In truth, it’s a bit of both.

And barring the sudden arrival of a squad of cheerleaders, or a marching sousaphone band playing ‘Louie Louie’, the scene could hardly look more stereotypically American. It feels like the Fonz will show up if we hang around for long enough.

The reality is different. This bit of Route 66, reputedly the ‘dark desert highway’ of ‘Hotel California’, has long been bypassed by Interstate 40. Now the sparse traffic is a mixture of nostalgic tourists, US Marines being acclimatised to desert warfare at the vast Air Ground Combat Center – and film companies looking for locations. Despite the promise implicit in its neon sign, Roy’s Motel and Café can’t offer a bed for the night or even a hot meal. These days, other than selling souvenirs, its main purpose seems to be as an all-American location for filming and photo shoots.

But it’s the Corvette, the all-new seventh-generation version of American’s original sports car, also known by its brought-back ‘Stingray’ name badge, that is probably

90

evo India | March 2014

WORDS by M I K E D U F F P H O T O G R A P H Y by A N D R E W Y E A D O N

AMERICAN IDOL The Corvette is one of US motoring’s most famous names, but its appeal to British audiences has always been limited. We travel to California to find out if the new, seventh-generation version can change all that

March 2014 |

evo India

91

F1 2 014

THE FIRST TEST b y H E N RY C AT C H P O L E

After months of preparation, F1’s technical revolution has finally reached a race circuit. evo was at Jerez in Spain as ten teams unleashed their 2014 creations for the first time March 2014 |

evo India

103

1

2

3 1: Red Bull unveils its RB10.

2: Ferrari’s F14 T manages half a lap before breaking down. 3: Hamilton will race as 44, his original karting number, in 2014.

4: Lower nose section is mandated as a safety measure. 5: Support for ill Schumacher. 6: Nico Rosberg debriefs the press. 7: Toro Rosso cunningly disguises rear diffuser.

8: New Force India.

9: Hamilton explains crash to the media

4

5

7

6

104

evo India | March 2014

8

9

Arunachal Festival of Speed

Rallying IN THE HILLS The Slideways Industries boys discover that rallying is big in the remotest corner of the remote North East WORDS by A N I RU D D H A R A N G N E K A R P H O T O G R A P H Y by K R I S H A N U C H AT T E R J E E

106

evo India | March 2014

I

IT’S 22 HOURS SINCE I LEFT HOME, THE LAST six spent covering 170km in a loud, bumpy and rather uncomfortable rally car and eating enough dust kicked up from the car in front to not require any dinner. Rally in the exotic North East, said Sirish, before conveniently loaning his Rally Polo to Gaurav Gill and heading to Delhi for the Auto Expo. And so the three of us, Byram, Roshan from our service crew Chettinad Sporting and I find ourselves driving our Slideways Industries rally cars up from Tezpur on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border to Dirang for the Arunachal Festival of Speed (AFOS). The roads are so steep that our massive 8-car carrier that brought the cars up from Coimbatore couldn’t go any further and so instead of bouncing around in the back of a Scorpio we were bouncing around in the front of a rally car.

And believe me the latter is far worse.

Forget cursing, if I had a voodoo doll Sirish would be experiencing pinpricks in the most uncomfortable places.

Of course I have only myself to blame, and it’s not like we don’t know the North East either. I’ve been rallying in the INRC for four years but owing to the championship being based mostly in the South I’ve never rallied in the mountains. So when the AFOS came up I jumped at the opportunity.

Neither was this my first visit to the North East; four years ago Byram and I drove a Swift from Udaipur (in Rajasthan) to Udaipur (in Tripura) for a big magazine story and, after causing a mini riot in Tripura and dumping our cars and flying back, we should have known better. But the lure of rallying, and the promise of visiting a properly exotic part of the country (“It’s like Switzerland,” Sirish said) put a rose tint on our past experience.

March 2014 |

evo India

107

122

evo India | March 2014

Kawasaki Z800

I

IT'S NOT EXACTLY A BANSHEE WAIL, but it's a distinctive shriek shredding the tranquility of the morning. It is loud enough to make the dogs lazing around perk up their ears and scramble to their feet. And the reason for this untimely unwelcome cacophony is this machine I’m riding. Roll on to about 50kmph in second, pull the clutch in, open the throttle wide and dump the clutch lever. It's been a while since I did this. Two-wheeled hooliganism at its best. The icing on the cake is the inline four-cylinder engine that is making this music-to-my-ears racket each time the revs rise, before I pop the clutch to let the front wheel rear high up in the air. Clutch wheelies are perhaps the easiest of wheelies, and I think naked streetbikes or sport nakeds are the best for this sort of hooliganism.

The Kawasaki Z800 I am riding seems adept at the task, given its eager power delivery. With this motorcycle, Kawasaki has set a whole lot of tongues wagging – those in the know will swear by the practicality and usability of middleweight streetbikes, and the Z800 (pronounced Zee-800) ticks the right boxes. It is a crucial motorcycle for Kawasaki India, since it bridges a rather large gap in its product line-up - between the relatively tame Ninja 650 and the far more powerful litre-class machines that make twice as much power. It is also the most affordable inline four-cylinder motorcycle you can buy in the country today, and we all know inline fours with their typical wail give you bragging rights.

The smallest inline four in the country it may be, but the Z800 does have what it takes in the looks department to challenge larger machines. The design language is aggressive, with its muscular stance with broad, chiselled shoulders dominating the front end. The headlamp is styled aggressively as well, and is in sync with the rest of

Test location: Pune, Maharashtra

Is this the practical, everyday motorcycle that also has the ability to set your pulse racing with its performance?

WORDS by A B H AY V E R M A P H O T O G R A P H Y by G AU R AV S T H O M B R E

KAWASAKI Z800 March 2014 |

evo India

123

128

evo India | March 2014

TONNES OF FUN

The new Harley-Davidson Street Glide casts a tall and broad shadow cruising along Goa’s skinny alleys during the colourful carnival style goings-on of India Bike Week WORDS by T U S H A R B U R M A N P H O T O G R A P H Y by B H U VA N C H OW D H A RY

I

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR when bikers from all over the country flock together in Goa for India Bike Week (IBW), which has, in only its second year, become one of the biggest biking festivals in the country. A de-facto HarleyDavidson event, it's known for its cruisers, choppers and custom motorcycles galore, and turns the laidback, peaceful and touristy Goa into HOG town. For three days (and nights) during this mid-January weekend, riding anything other than a Harley feels like attending a black-tie event in flip-flops. It was only appropriate then, that I at least make a pithy attempt at mingling, seeing that I had arrived on my featherweight KTM. So naturally, I went and borrowed the humongous 372kg, bat-winged, saddlebagged, 1690cc, two-and-a-half metre long 2014 Street Glide. What can I say? That was the only one that was free.

As eager as I was to get in the saddle, the sheer size and dimensions of the Street Glide are intimidating.

It’s a far cry from small and sporty Japanese and European sportsbikes, nimble machines with immense power-to-weight ratios that can get you in, and out of trouble within milliseconds. The sort of thing I'm used to. The Street Glide in comparison looks and feels crude. But then a Harley isn’t about the spec sheet, but rather about the experience of cruising highways, munching miles and basking in freedom while dreaming about bald eagles, M16s and what one's bike would look like with dark,

custom styling.

Harley-Davidson used inputs from riders from all over the world in the making of the 2014 Street Glide, through its customer-driven program called Project Rushmore. The 110-year-old Milwaukeebased company has tinkered with its motorcycles to make them more enjoyable and easy to use. At first glance, the new Rushmore motorcycle feels exactly the same as its older counterpart, but on closer inspection the differences are evident. The redesigned bat-wing fairing now houses an airvent for better air flow. The saddlebags have been re-designed with latches that can now be operated while being seated and the infotainment system on the dashboard has been significantly upgraded with a touchscreen user interface. The seats are more comfortable with increased cushioning. The handlebar ergonomics make for a stretched out, yet relaxed riding stance.

Turn on the ignition and the large 4.3-inch touchscreen flashes the red Harley-Davidson logo and the electronics go into self-check mode. I rock the 372kg bike back and forth to find neutral and fire up the 1690cc Twin-cam Rushmore engine.

I'm making this part sound easier than it is, since the bike I rode weighed six times what I do. When I finally do find neutral, the green N-light lights up on the massive dash. Thumb the starter and the pushrod-actuated twin comes to life with a typical Harley baritone rumble. As the engine settles into a steady thump, I reverse the bike out of the parking lot with a little help from two friends. A March 2014 |

evo India

131

RUNNING CIRCLES The Toyota EMR series looks tailor-made to write rags to riches stories WO R D S by A K S H AY G U P TA

146

evo India | March 2014

Akshay EMR experience

W

Waiting at the reception lounge, I knew that the bigwig I was about to meet would crack up when I made my pitch, either to my face or behind my back. Er… it wasn’t the latter. I had made the trip because I had a small sliver of hope, or rather my dad did. He suggested a textile company since they had the moolah to sponsor me and my wishful dream of whizzing in fast cars around racing circuits.

I’d had three desolate years of endless waits in corporate offices seeking sponsors. Not to mention the zillion phone calls I made, most of whom hung up as soon as they heard me plead for sponsorship. You’d think ‘sponsorship’ was a dirty word.

The dream was to go racing. And it needed money. Like a prominent Indian racer and team owner asked me, rubbing his thumb and forefinger: “Son, how fast do you want to go?” In the movies the hero goes from taxi driver to pro NASCAR racer overnight. For mere mortals it’s rejection and keeping the faith.

Then out of the blue, I saw a Facebook post about the Toyota Etios Motor Racing series. I assumed that it would be exorbitant too and I would spend more time in office receptions getting laughed at. Little did I know that Toyota was all set to change the face of Indian motorsport, at least at the grass-roots level.

What Toyota were offering budding racers like me was a full season in a proper tin-top racer for Rs 1.75 lakh. And this was not a cover charge, but included a full OMP racing kit including racing suit (not one, two!), gloves, shoes, inners, FIA-spec helmet and HANS worth over Rs 2 lakh. The series also had live TV coverage, something unheard of in Indian motorsport.

The ensuing selection process kicked off with two go-kart qualifiers. The first ones -- the regionals – were held at four major cities in India on karting tracks. If the city didn’t have a track, Toyota built one. From 3,300 entries, Toyota shortlisted 70 drivers for the second round, also in go-karts.

The level of detail the Toyota team focused on was flabbergasting. Along with Red Rooster, who provided technical support, they flew in veteran racers from all over the country to hand-pick drivers. Outright speed wasn’t the only criterion; they were checking consistency, traffic management and kart control of each and every driver. Amazing commitment, considering the huge number of contestants. In round two, each driver was assigned a professional driving coach who helped us gain time. At the end of the day I was three-tenths faster and four-tenths off the fastest time. I made it through to round three.

Final selections were at the MMRT in Chennai, one of my favourite tracks. This was my first time in a proper race-prepped car and the feeling was overwhelming. The Etios racing car ran the stock engine and had only 100bhp, but the super stiff Tein suspension and grippy MRF race-rubber made it an interesting prospect. In conjunction, the car generated immense grip. One had to push the car beyond sane levels to make it do anything funny or scary. Understeer is prominent under aggressive turn-in and because of the car’s light weight, braking was very efficient.

Equipped with ABS, stomping on the brakes into the corner and trail-braking was easy. The car was so sure-footed that during the entire session, not once did the tail swing out, despite my aggressive driving style of throwing the car into the corners.

After rigorous training and multiple sessions on the short loop of the circuit, twenty-five drivers made it to grid. I was one of them!

The rest included promising talent who had proven their mettle in every major racing (and rallying) series in the country. The grid was one of the most competitive in India, as I later discovered.

But before I tore up the track, I had another encounter with the dreaded sponsorship monster. EMR may be relatively cheap, but is still a fair bit for a student. Sponsors, however, found the monies sensible and came through on the very first attempt in the form of my alma mater Indus University and Electrotherm.

By this time, most of the Indian racing series were past the halfway point. So instead of staging the EMR championship, Toyota dubbed them exhibition races in 2012. Toyota also brought in a few Japanese Toyota Racing Development racers who groomed us, besides whom there was Ben Collins ( Top Gear’s Stig from 2003-2010) and Japanese GT driver, auto journo and Nurburgring production car lap record holder Akira Iida.

The training at the MMRT track with the skilful Japanese drivers was a revelation. We were trained to get accustomed to March 2014 |

evo India

147