Tata Nano : 2009

The Tata Nano comes in 3 variants. The Nano, the Nano CX and the Nano LX.

This snub-nosed runabout is the cheapest new car in the world. The price of the tiny Nano, made by the Indian conglomerate Tata, starts at just £1,250.

The base model has no air conditioning (other than the wind-down window variety) no power steering, no passenger-side mirror and only one windscreen wiper.

But the makers claim it can fit four passengers as well as the driver, with a bit of a squeeze.

The Nano aims to bring the joys of motoring to millions of Indians, doing for the subcontinent what the Volkswagen Beetle did for Germany and the Mini for Britain.

Measuring just over ten foot long, and five foot high and wide, the car is powered by a 623cc two-cylinder petrol engine in the rear developing just 33 horse-power. It has a top speed of about 65mph and will do about 50 miles to the gallon.

The Tata factory in West Bengal will initially be able to turn out 250,000 cars a year but sales are predicted to top one million.

It is called the "one Lakh" car after the Indian term for 100,000 - because it will sell for 100,000 rupees, equivalent to about £1,250. This is three times the average national income and the basic version is spare: there's no radio, no passenger-side mirror and only one windscreen wiper.

When company chairman Ratan Tata drove it onstage, his head nearly touched the roof.

TATA insists it is "environmentally friendly" and exceeds regulatory standards on safety and pollution.

Indian standards for road safety and pollution emissions generally lag behind British and European levels, so the car might not be legal on British roads.

The Retail Motor Industry Federation said cars must comply with European standards, which can mean replacing glass, lights, tyres and seatbelts.

Speedometers must be in miles. The car would have to undergo Government approved crash tests and be subjected to an overall inspection report before being given approval for sale, all of which would push up the price.

However, it is possible dealers might still find it worthwhile to make modifications that would make the car legal and still be able to sell it at a price that would make a profit while being attractively low to a buyer.

Vic Amato from Huntingdon company JRH Imports said the car, at such a low price, would be a tempting proposition for private importers.

"That's an astonishing price for a car," he said.

(source: Tata)