Fancy that, a Caterham-kind of roadster, here in India. That's the Chinkara, named after the smallest Asiatic gazelle. The passion of a German engineer based in India, the Chinkara's powered by the familiar 1817 CC Isuzu engine found under the Ambassador.
With 88 bhp and 13.8 kgm of torque, and weighing just 620 kg thanks to a fibreglass body, the Chinkara promises to be fun. Riding on 16" tubeless radials, the machine can touch 100 kph in 7.6 secs.
Since it's 100 per cent indigenous, Chinkara Cars also claim that getting spares and maintaining/servicing the roadster is not an issue, and that it can be further customised as well. The Chinkara 1.8 S roadster is priced at Rs 6,72,000, ex-factory. Get in touch with them at chinkaracars@rediffmail.com
A Cub above the rest
In August 1958, Honda's Sayama factory rolled out its first Honda Cub. Last December, Big Red sold its 35 millionth Cub, a new landmark of sorts. To put that in perspective, the Volkswagen Golf, the most popular automobile ever, sold just 25 million units, while the Toyota Corolla has a paltry 21.5 mill to show for it.
Cagers, eat your hearts out. The record goes on to show that the Cub is a global phenomenon
