The Tata Sierra was first launched in 1991 and has many firsts to its credits. For starters, it became the first passenger car from Tata Motors. Moreover, it became the first car to be designed and manufactured entirely in India, while it also was quick to become the first-ever oil-burner-equipped passenger vehicle to receive acceptance as a personal car. Later in its life, the small SUV received a turbocharged diesel engine and 4x4 hardware. Finally, it was discontinued in 2000 and was replaced with the Safari.
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In spite of being out of production for nearly two decades, the Sierra enjoys an almost cult status among the enthusiasts. Here's a modified Tata Sierra from Kerala, which carries several modifications that give it an off-road-ready look. It has been done up by Calicut-based Sreejesh MP. At its front-end, the modified example features an off-road-spec bumper that carries a winch, headlamp protector, and auxiliary lights. Furthermore, it features a small LED light bar.
Moving on, the modified Tata Sierra carries a plastic snorkel, which boosts its water-wading capability. The custom vehicle rides on large diameter off-road-spec wheels shod with meaty all-terrain tires. The increased ride height and the custom dark grey paint scheme adds to the SUV's bold character and high street presence. Details about the interior and performance modifications aren't available at the moment. What's known, however, is that this custom-built SUV features the Mahindra Bolero PikUp's solid front angle and a bespoke coil over suspension.
Initially, the Tata Sierra was powered by a Peugeot-sourced XD88 IDI diesel engine that produced a paltry 63 bhp of maximum power. In 1997, however, the motor received a turbocharger, which boosted the peak power output to 90 bhp. A 4x4 variant was added in April 1998. The features list included electric windows, air conditioning, adjustable steering wheel, factory-fitted radio and tachometer.
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Earlier this month, Pratap Bose, Head of Design at Tata Motors expressed his desire to work on a new iteration of the Tata Sierra. That said, Bose was quick to add that he doubts the relevance of the Sierra in the current market scenario. At the moment, Tata Motors has been working on updating its product portfolio with a range of new-age vehicles that will be underpinned by the Omega (Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced) and Alfa (Agile Light Flexible Advanced Architecture) platforms. The carmaker's new car onslaught will begin with the Tata Harrier in January 2019, followed by the Tata Aquilla in August 2019.
[Source- facebook.com]
