Video: Wild bike-engined Tata Nano with 200bhp driven

Certifiable, crazy and insane are just some of the ways you can describe the Tata 'Super Tata Nano'. And you wouldn’t be far off the mark; what with a claimed 200bhp-plus kicking out of the rear and those mad, mad wheels. But just what is it? Weekend track car, real racing car or something to drive to the movies in?

I put the question to J Anand (of JA Motorsport). “Well, officially, it’s an engineering showcase, a sort of here’s what we can do. But it’s also loads of fun and shows the Nano in a new light.”

Like he said, that’s the official answer. I, however, think this is what happens when you make an ex-racing driver pilot a 37bhp Nano around, month after month. Of course, Jayem Auto, JA Motorsports’ mother company, works closely with Tata Motors on many of its engineering projects, so, the Super Nano is a step in the right direction too.

But what’s a 200bhp Nano like to drive? It’s clearly racing car-like to climb into. You need to squeeze your way past the jungle gym-like roll cage, and seat adjustment is only via a set of spanners. Once in, you get clipped into the racing harness and it even needs an external power supply to get going. Everyday usability? You can forget that.

Starting up is an eye-opener in more ways than one. Sequential motorcycle-based gearbox in ‘N’, I hit the tiny starter and flex the throttle; the dragon awakens with a primaeval scream, stabs of exhaust spitting from the rear. And the revs soar, even if I so much as tap the accelerator. The din from the unsilenced exhaust is so loud, the farmer from the adjoining field comes over to see what the fuss is all about.

Getting away from rest though, isn’t easy. I try not to fry the clutch and am a bit too gentle; the Super Nano stalls. This motorcycle engine may have approximately 200bhp, but there’s only a Swift-like 95-100lb ft of torque, and real grunt is way up the power band. The next time around, I give it more revs, slip the clutch a bit and make a clean-ish getaway. Phew.

The motorcycle-based gearbox only has to be ‘tapped’ up or forward to shift to the next gear, but I’ve also got to remember not to pull back for the next, as you would on a traditional H-pattern layout. And that’s not easy once you are in the thick of a set of corners.

Acceleration from rest is also a bit disappointing. I’d like to tell you the Super Nano runs away from the line with its tail on fire, I really would, but initially, there’s only plenty of noise from the exhaust and not much else. Yes, the revs rise and the engine spins faster, but the Super Nano is much slower off the line than I expect. That’s probably due to the comparatively low torque and the high gearing, again.