Tata Motors unveils Cliffrider at Geneva show
Tata Motors unveils Cliffrider at Geneva show
The annual Geneva Auto Show has been a platform of choice for Tata Motors to showcase its overall technology and design prowess and its global ambitions.
As has been its practice during the past eight years, Tata Motors has, this year too, unveiled a new multi-utility lifestyle concept vehicle called the ‘Cliffrider’.
This new vehicle concept is designed to look like a cross between a pick-up truck and a family van or family tourer.
Unveiling it here on press day at the Geneva Auto Show, Mr Ravi Kant, Managing Director of Tata Motors, said the Cliffrider is based on another concept – the Tata Crossover (Xover) – that was originally showcased at last year’s show.
Sporting dynamic package
The company has defined the new concept vehicle as sporting a dynamic package that combines lifestyle and sporty usage with the practical functionality of a pick-up truck.
It is meant to showcase Tata Motors’ vision of how a utility vehicle could evolve in the future, by offering multiple usages and multiple-terrain capabilities.
The Cliffrider was designed and prototyped by Idea of Italy, the same design house that co-developed the Indica, Tata Motors’ popular small car.
Other concept vehicles
Tata Motors has during previous years displayed other concept vehicles such as the Aria, the Indigo Marina and the Xover.
While the Indica and its derivatives, the Indigo and the Indigo Marina have made it to commercial production, the other concepts are yet to make it to the assembly line.
Reiterating that the company has a roadmap for other concept vehicles also, Mr Ravi Kant said the first of the newer concepts to make to production would be the Xover, a mix between a family tourer and a sports utility vehicle.
The Xover is likely to be productionised by 2009 and the company is currently evaluating its commercial feasibility.
Export plans
Speaking on the company’s export plans, Mr Kant said Tata Motors is looking at various options for reconnecting with the UK and European markets after the Rover bankruptcy declaration. “We think we know how to tackle the UK market and a number of possibilities exist for re-introducing our products there”, he said.