Tata Motors unveils new city car concept Tata Pixel at Geneva Motor Show 2011

Indian auto major Tata Motors showcased new car concept for Europe, Tata Pixel at the 81 edition of Geneva Motor Show.

Pixel is the new city car concept that the Tata Motors designed for Europe that has taken cues from earlier compact car Nano, says the company statement.



The new concept Tata Pixel falls under 4 meters (in fact it is just a little over 3 meters) length and the company claims that it is the most efficient 4-seater package which can accommodate four people quite unlikely of any typical city car that struggle to accommodate more than two adults. What makes the Tata Pixel perfect city drive car is its stunning turning radius of 2.6m. Tata Pixel boasts of easy parking in parking lots with little room for maneuvering. The concept's traction-drive with Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) technology enables the rotation of rear wheel (outer) forwards and inner one backwards and the front wheels to turn at acute angles resulting in a stunning turn radius of 2.6 meter. Besides the full-toroidal traction drive promises to enhance fuel economy and reduce on the emissions while not compromising on performance, functionality as well as control.



The car comes equipped with 'scissor doors' which would rotate/go up from the front instead of opening out the normal way, just to enable passengers ingress and egress the car at parking lots that have little or no room to otherwise open the doors. The youthful style and the connectivity of the Tata Pixel make it a smart city car. Tata Pixel is indeed first car with human-machine interface (HMI) technology from Tata Motors and a smart phone can control functions of the car, really smart ain't.

The Tata Motors Managing Director and Group CEO Carl-Peter Forster quoted of saying, "Tata Motors holds true to its belief that there is an opportunity in Europe for a city car, which is optimal in space, maneuverability and environment-friendliness. The Tata Pixel is a reflection of Tata Motors' idea of what such a car should be."



The Tata Pixel concept runs on a 1.2-liter three-cylinder turbo engine (diesel) which is put at the rear. The car is designed to optimum aerodynamic drag. This coupled with low-rolling-resistance tires, intelligent battery charging, smart start-stop technology, low CO2 emissions (89g/km) and high fuel economy of 3.4 liters/100km makes the Pixel an envious concept to say the least.

Tata Motors also showcased Tata Aria, Tata Indigo Manza, and Tata Indica Vista at their pavilion. Tata Indica Vista was introduced in Italy and Poland, and is set for a launch in Spain. But there was special display at the Green Pavilion of the Geneva Motor Show 2011, the Tata Indica Vista EV. The Tata Indica Vista electric vehicle had gotten prestigious awards for its performance at Brighton-to-London Future Car Challenge. Tata Indica Vista EV will be delivered this summer to European fleet customers.

Surely Tata Pixel reflects the future of city driving. That the Tata Pixel runs on Torotrak technology and rear engine can we expect the same technology to be replicated soon to the failed Tata Nano?