A Tata Altroz prototype fitted with a diesel engine
was spied on test recently, courtesy Overdrive. This diesel engine is one of
the three options Tata Motors will offer in the Altroz. BS-VI emission norms will make
diesel engines for most small cars inordinately expensive, but Tata Motors has
decided to offer the Altroz with one. A recent report said that the plan is to
employ a detuned version of the Nexon’s 1.5-litre Revotorq turbocharged
four-cylinder diesel engine in the premium hatchback.
The 1.5-litre Revotorq diesel engine develops 110 PS
and 260 Nm of torque in the Nexon. For the Altroz, Tata Motors has dialed down
the maximum power to 90 PS. There’s no word on the torque figure at the moment.
While the Nexon has a 6-speed manual transmission, the Altroz has a 5-speed
manual transmission.
In addition to a 1.5-litre diesel engine, Tata
Motors will offer two 1.2-litre petrol engines in the Altroz, both
three-cylinder units, and one turbocharged. Last year, it was said that the
naturally aspirated engine is a newly developed unit and that it will come with
mild-hybrid technology optionally. However, the recent report claims it to be
the 85 PS Revotron unit of the Tiago, just with the addition of a balancer
shaft to smoothen out vibrations.
The turbocharged petrol engine has been officially
introduced in the Tata Altroz’s Geneva Edition. It’s a detuned version of the
Nexon’s Revotron unit, producing 102 PS and 140 Nm of torque in the hatchback -
8 PS and 30 Nm less than in the SUV. Tata Motors will launch the
Altroz, the first car based on the newly developed Advanced Modular Platform,
in the middle of this calendar year, most likely by July.
