Ratan Tata’s long awaited dream finally became a reality as Tata Motors unveiled their Rs. 1 lakh ($2,500) car, christened the ”Nano” at the Auto Expo being held at Delhi.

The dealer price would be Rs. 1 lakh, but I guess other factors like insurance, registration, delivery charges, road tax and VAT could push it closer to the Rs. 1.5-2 lakh range. Secondly, this price tag would apply to the Non AC version, with the AC variant expected to cost more.

The car is a hatchback, 3.1 metres long and around 1.5 metres wide with tubeless tyres. The engine is a rear wheel drive, rear mounted, 2-cylinder, 624 cc, MPFI petrol engine. The car also has features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat-belts, strong seats and anchorages. There is no factory fitted radio or passenger side mirror. The fuel efficiency is touted to be in the 20 km/litre range.

Tata sought to dispel fears about any problems regarding safety as well as pollution, saying the pollution levels were even less than Indian two-wheelers. The car meets the Bharat 3 (Euro 4) emission standards. It had also passed the full frontal crash test, the offset and side crash test, thereby complying with international safety norms.

People have also been harping on the fact that with such cheap cars now available, India’s already crumbling infrastructure and poor quality of roads will be further subject to more damage, causing Nobel Laureate and Chief UN climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri to even remark that he was already having nightmares about the prospect of the low cost car.  :)