5 Shaktimaans of The Indian Automotive Industry

90’s people rejoice! India’s original superhero; Shaktimaan is finally making its long-awaited comeback. So, going with this we have come up with an interesting read on some popular Indian cars that are the OG of the Indian automotive scene.

India has seen a big growth in the automotive industry. The market has grown so much that India ranks 5th rank worldwide. But this growth came a long way and there are some cars that are old but still hold a special place in the customer’s heart. So, we are going to talk about those 5 special cars today.

1. Maruti 800

   

   The Maruti 800 is the most successful product for Suzuki in the Indian market. Suzuki planted its foot in the Indian market by launching 800 with the help of the Indian Government. The car became extremely famous that the company sold over 2.6 million units solely in India in its 31 years of lifespan. The Maruti 800 is the second longest production car in the Indian market.

   The Maruti 800 came with a 796 cc, 3 cylinders, MPFI Petrol engine which produced around 37 bhp of power and 59 Nm of torque. The car came with a 4-speed manual, 5-speed manual and an automatic gearbox throughout the year. But the automatic unit didn’t sell well.

2. Hindustan Motors Ambassador

   

   What can be said of the Shaktimaan of Indian automobilia; the Hindustan Motors Ambassador needs no introduction. This is the longest production car in the Indian market which started its journey in 1958. However, HM discontinued the Ambassador in 2014. HM Ambassador was the favourite car among politicians and taxi drivers.

   The HM Ambassador is based on the Morris Oxford Series 3. The car came with 1.5-L, B-Series OHV, 4-Cylinder, Naturally Aspirated Petrol, 1.8-L Isuzu Sourced NA Petrol, 1.5-L Diesel and 2.0-L Isuzu sourced Diesel engines in its lifespan. Back in the day, HM rivalled Maruti Suzuki, FIAT and Standard.

3. Premier Padmini

   

   Premier Padmini is again another famous car in the Indian market. The car got into production with the help of FIAT. FIAT/Premier started the production of Padmini in 1964 and ended its production in 2001.

   The company changed the cars so many times throughout its lifespan which includes FIAT 1100 Delight, Premier President and Premier Padmini. Back in the day, this was a favourite car among celebrities.

   The car came with a 1.0-L (1089 cc), 4-cylinder Carburetted Petrol engine which produced 47 bhp of power and 71 Nm of Torque. Later, the company cut down around 5 bhp of power to make it more fuel-efficient. And when Maruti started its monopoly, Premier also offered a 1366 cc 137D Diesel engine which produced 45 bhp of power, had a top speed of 140 kmph and offered staggering 25 kmpl of mileage. But it didn’t work that well so Premier stopped the production of Padmini in 2001.

4. Tata Indica

   

   Another OG in India (just like Shaktimaan) Tata Indica was the first car from Tata. It was also the first India hatchback with a diesel motor. Tata Indica is a very important product for both India and the company. Indica helped Tata a lot to plant its foot in the Indian market. Back in the day, Tata Indica was the first choice among taxi drivers as the car was good in terms of performance, Mileage, Comfort and it was affordable too.

   Tata Indica was first launched in 1998. Within a week of launch, Tata received over a lakh order which was not expected by the company. Thus, Tata Indica became the most successful product for Tata.
   The Tata Indica came with so many engine options. It was equipped with a 1.4-L, Naturally Aspirated/Turbocharged Diesel with different tuning, 1.4-L MPFI Petrol, 1.2-L Petrol/LPG. The 1.4-L Diesel unit came with different tuning which includes CR4 and Dicor.

   One should also know about the underrated, crazy looking Indica Silhouette which was showcased in 2006. This car is an Indica on steroids. So the Tata Indica Silhouette was equipped with a crazy 3.5-L V6 Diesel engine which produced 330 bhp of power which helped the Indica Silhouette to sprint 100 kmph in just 4.5 seconds! This car had a top speed of 270 kmph. All the 330 bhp of power was channelled to rear wheels with the help of a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

5. Mahindra Scorpio

   

   Mahindra Scorpio is another Shaktimaan car and one of the most successful products for Mahindra. The SUV made its own legacy in the Indian market. The Scorpio launched back in 2002 and it is the only car on the list which is currently being sold. The SUV faced 4 generation changes in its timeline and is up for another update which will be launching in 2022.

   The Mahindra Scorpio came with a 2.2-L, Common Rail, Direct Injection, Turbocharged mHawk Diesel engine. This engine puts out 138 bhp of power and 320 Nm of torque. This is the most successful engine for the Scorpio. Apart from this, the SUV also came with a 2.1-L, Renault Sourced I4 MPI Petrol, 2.2-L mHawk I4 Turbocharged Diesel, 2.2-L DW12 mHawk MPI Diesel, 2.5-L TDI I4 Diesel, 2.5-L CRDe I4 Diesel, 2.6-L I4 TDI Diesel and 2.6-L CRDe I4 TDI Diesel.

So this is the list of Shaktimaans of the Indian automotive industry. There are still so many cars that pushed the Indian auto sector ahead but we couldn’t include every car in the list.

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