There was a time when Tata Motors was planning to bring in passenger vehicles in the Indian market. Before that, Telco or the Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd was the one making commercial vehicles such as pickup trucks. One such is a pickup truck that paved the way for the legendary Tata Sierra is the Telcoline. Or to put it in a more simple way, Tata Sierra can be dubbed as the closed version of the Tata Telcoline.
1988: Tata Telcoline Comes Into Existence
This pickup truck was originally known as the 206-pick-up in India. And it is the first light commercial vehicle from the company. It had a 2.0-litre diesel engine under the hood. Let’s see the specs.
Tata Telcoline | Engine Specifications
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| Engine | 2.0-litre water-cooled Indirect Injection Diesel Engine |
| Capacity | 1,948cc |
| Power Output | 68ps @4,500rpm |
| Torque | 117.67Nm @2,500rpm |
| Gearbox | 5-speed Synchromesh MT |
The Telcoline was built on a Ladder-type cranked frame with box section long members and welded cross members. For the suspension, it had double wishbone type coil springs at the front with semi-elliptical leaf spring. Both the ends had anti-roll bars. This pickup truck was built to be rugged and had great usability in terms of load-carrying capacity.
The Tata Telcoline had a gradability of 26% and a top speed of 104kmpl. The 191mm of ground clearance made it possible for the Telcoline to move through the Indian roads easily. At the front, it had disc brakes while at the rear it had drum brakes.
Tata also exported the Telcoline outside India. Tata offered the Telcoline in both left-hand and right-hand steering options. Telcoline also offered an air conditioner with the heater as an option. The fuel tank capacity of 60 litres allowed it to embark on long journeys too.
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You are wrong if you think that Telcoline is now long discontinued. Tata Sierra, a legendary vehicle that is the first passenger vehicle from Tata was based on this truck. Tata Telcoline was upgraded to Tata Xenon in 2006, a truck we are well aware with.
So, now you know where the small commercial vehicle journey of Tata Motors started. India’s very own carmaker has been a pioneer in the commercial vehicle segment, thanks to their R&D that has given global majors like Eicher run for their money. What do you think about the Telcoline? Let us know in the comments section below.
A fun read: Tata Sumo: The SUV you know, Its Origins you don’t!
Had one of these a few years ago when I was living in the Toros mountains in Turkey. It was a 2005 single cab 1.9 turbo 90 HP with a Peugeot XUD engine and 2WD. The ride height had been raised and it was on big wheels. I loved it. Once you got it away it would carry a ton of dry cement anywhere, even up incredibly steep rough roads. Getting it away empty out of my steep driveway from cold was challenging though! The bad bits were the blower and the connectors on the rear lamps. Had to sell it for peanuts due to changed circumstances. Got my eye on a low kilometres 2002 dual cab 4WD 1.9 turbo at the moment …