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Performance Cars in India

The Indian car market’s relationship with performance cars is scratchy at best. The heavily taxed imports make it very expensive to own fast cars for the common people and there are barely any affordable options. Further, the entire culture around cars in the country is not conducive to fast cars being popular.
The patchy quality of the road network, congestion and extremely high number of fatalities are also factors which limit the market for such cars.
Ferrari 488 GTB
Credits: Top Gear
However, there have been some positive signs lately. The most prominent of which have been car launches in the ‘warm’ hatch segments. Cars like the VW Polo GT TSI, The Abarth Punto and the Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS show a shift in the perception of buyers. There is still obviously a long way to go. These cars would figure nowhere in the list of fast cars abroad. However, they seem to be buckling the age old Indian tradition of cars being drab tools and vehicles to depict social stature.
The high end performance car segment on the other hand has also seen noticeable progress. A person with means can get their hands on the best specimens of speed from the world over. A recent example of this is the launch of the latest gen Ford Mustang last year. This would have been unthinkable 5 years. Although the model available is the less engaging automatic with a slightly detuned motor, it still is the cheapest V8 available for sale in the country making performance slightly more attainable.
The ultra-luxury SUV boom has not helped the case for performance cars the world over. This is especially true in India, where the physical size of the car is on many occasions taken in direct correlation to one’s social stature and wealth. There is also this extreme fear (not unfounded) of too high speed breakers and other obstructions which may be difficult to maintain a supercar. This is over and above the general affinity towards chauffer driven limousines.
Having said this, there is a reasonable standard of aftermarket performance outfitters. These provide a more affordable, if not entirely genuine replacement to the thrill of owning a truly fast car. The motorsport scene is also steadily growing with series like the Polo Cup and some home bred rally teams in the Asia Pacific circuit. These can only be positive signs. The opening of the Buddh International circuit is also a positive step in this regard.
There is without any doubt, a huge market for such vehicles in this country. A more conducive tax structure, better information to the car buying public, greater initiative by the manufacturer and largely better infrastructure can definitely go a long way in making performance cars a bigger part of car culture in India.

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