We all are aware of brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Maserati, etc. And the only reason why this is so is because they make super cars. The craze for sports cars worldwide is mind-boggling. When we see a Sports car creating the symphony of its V8 or V12 engines, it’s something which we could hear all day long. Today we lWhy no Indian car maker has been able to launch a sports carive in a world where SUVs are being hailed all around, but a sports car’s revs are enough to shut those up. This tells us that even though there's a transition taking place towards SUVs, all this doesn't really bother a sports car.

But did you notice one thing in the names of sports car brands I just took? Well, all of those are Italians. Yes and that’s not it, there are plenty more Italian brands out there creating a beast of a machine. And not just Italians - British, Americans, Germans, etc. are also in the list. 

Now, this brings me to a big question mark, why there’s no Indian sports car brand out there? Even though we have some shining car companies in India, still why don’t we have a capable sports car which could go up against those Italians for that matter? And to answer this, I have picked these 4 points which could explain to you, Why an Indian Sports car doesn’t exists?

Let’s dive into the first one -

Glorious History

There’s a strong pillar which holds these foreign sports car brands tight and it is their History. You go and research about any foreign sports car brand and learn about the cause of their existence. You will find one similarity that their history is inspiring which makes it glorious. Let’s Ferrari for instance -

An Italian named Enzo Ferrari was a sports car racer in 1900’s.

He inspired many during the phase of his career. 

He had this dream though that he wanted to create a sports car which could cater with all those factors what a car of that kind should actually cater to.

So, he started this brand named Ferrari and produced its first sports car in 1947.

And we know what happened next!

Therefore, the point is that these brands have the history which stands strong as their reputation and gives the customer a strengthy and a convincing reason to buy their car.

And talking about Indian car brands, they too have a great history to be proud of. But, it would not help a sports car under their brand name go bonkers in terms of market performance. Their history is more leaned towards the term SUVs, Affordability and power. That’s today we are seeing more SUVs coming out of their houses, that too SUVs which could fit an average Indian consumer’s pockets. 

Well, this was about their History, if you want to know about their Reputation then, it's better not to talk about it. Yeah, it's been a rough road for them. But as a good news, they are improving themselves in every given aspect today. Their cars are much more well packaged, well engineered and overall happens to be a good product. 

So, now you might think that this would be the right time for an Indian brand to launch a sports car. Then NO! And why a NO? The next point will explain you -

Lack of Resources

Now believe it or not, developing a sports car is a heck of a lengthy process. It needs excellence in almost every field or every aspect which is required to make a car. Building a sports car is complicated, if to explain you in simple words, then the process is like watching Christopher Nolan’s 'TENET'. Super attention to every minute detail is required. And these three factors will give you an idea that, what all is needed to build a supercar?

Great R&D -

To build a supercar as said, one needs to give his full attention even on a minute detail. Because it's that important. A sports car to perform in the way one wants it to, it's a compulsion that the requisites have been understood, studied and applied perfectly. One small crack could break the whole glass.

Usually R&D consists of many things, but the most important one is the Engine. The engine should be precisely made and tuned in a way, so that it delivers the required adrenaline rush. After all, the engine is 50% responsible to provide the feel and the experience while driving it. And till date, Indian carmakers have never actually made an engine which could have these characteristics. The biggest in-house developed engine we have today is Mahindra’s 2.2 L engines, that too, they are not made to serve a sports car’s purpose, they are purely built for an SUV. But we should at least be fortunate that there are good engines being made by local car makers, so we can expect good performance-oriented engines from them. But, the problem doesn’t end here -

Great Facility -

Now let's imagine that we actually got a performance-oriented engine from them. It excels in whatever required aspect it has. But, where would you test it? Such engines need thorough testing before being fitted into a product. And unfortunately, there are not many race tracks where such engines could be tested. And if you are going to test it in normal city traffic, then what should I say?! 

But, still again a ray of hope pops in! There are various mega construction projects going on to develop the pathetic Highways of India. So, maybe we could finally get some places to test it on. But unfortunately, the third factor stands like a tall wall -

Great Money -

The above two factors need this! No doubt money plays the most important role over here. The more spend, there are more chances of getting a ‘close to perfect’ product. Earlier, this was a major issue, as brands weren’t doing that well compared to today. And even if they had the money, they were preferring to burn it out in making what's ‘needed’ and not what’s ‘wanted’, there’s a difference! Fortunately though, today things are different, they have their pockets filled and being filled nicely, so in a way they are ready to roll out the monster finally. But for whom would they do that?

Niche Market 

Doesn’t matter that today car makers have the right tool to build a sports car ground up. , Because at the end, who would they do it for? Supercar audience in India is an extremely  niche market ( compared to foreign supercar niche markets ). So even if you make a supercar, no one would really care. 

And if you talk about the prices, then obviously they would be on the higher side. And its definitely not like there are no rich people living in India. There are many rich Indian personalities today, but the problem is that the average age of those is between 50 to 60 years. And 95% of people at this age prefer Luxury over that Adrenaline Rush. 

Hence, a carmaker spending crores and crores of rupees to develop a car and not even receiving 10% of it as a return, this doesn’t make any sense to me!

Road Conditions

Last but not the least, Road Conditions. You tell me, where the heck am I supposed to have fun driving my sports car in a country like India? Where there’s potholes literally at every turn you take. Where there terribly engineered speed breakers. Where there are pathetic highways present. Yeah, I do know that we are making progress in terms of building nicer and well engineered highways, no doubt. But what about the secondary issues of highways, Where we can see animal crossing and even sometimes human crossings. Well, to be honest with whatever experience I have about our highways, I can explain it with one word ‘UNEXPECTING’. You will be offered with anything which you can’t even imagine!

So, what do you think? If you were a successful carmaker of India, would you still make a supercar? I guess your answer would be, NO! That’s obvious with the reality which we just discussed. But, honestly, being an enthusiast I would really want an Indian carmaker to create history in this field as well. It would open so many more doors for us as customers. Overall it's a good thought!

This is a Bonus for you -

Earlier an Indian car maker tried to make a sports car and even launched it! Dilip Chabaria’s - DC Avanti. It was India’s first sports car which launched in the market with the price tag of ₹ 40 lakhs. But it got discontinued in 2016. And it requires a whole independent article to know WHY?