Undisguised new Maruti small car spotted

Maruti may be good at keeping its cars under wraps but it is getting increasingly difficult. Pictures of the production version of the A:Wind concept have been posted by Motoroids. Alert snapper Dhananjay caught the all-new hatchback in what looks like an advertising campaign photoshoot. 

The Suzuki A:Wind Concept displayed at the 2013 Thailand Motor show was a hatchback waiting to happen for India since small cars from the Suzuki stable are developed keeping the huge Indian market in mind. We expect Maruti to unveil this highly anticipated car at the upcoming Auto Expo. Codenamed YL7, the hatchback could carry the Celerio moniker in production form and ditch the A:Wind tag from the concept or the present A-Star name since this name hasn’t been successful in India.

In the not-so-clear images, the form of the production car can be seen to be retained in the whole. The front end styling has been toned down from the bold concept keeping its mass market positioning. The headlights get turn indicators on top and there’s plenty of chrome on the grille to give it a premium look. Round fog lamps have been integrated into bumper instead of separate housings for them. 

Under the hood, we expect the same 1.0-litre K-series 3-cylinder engine that currently powers the A-Star, Wagon R and Alto K10. It has 67 PS of power on tap and 89 Nm of torque. In concept form, the car measures 3,600mm x 1,600mm x 1,540mm (LxWxH) and has a wheelbase of 2,425mm. It is 100mm longer and 80mm taller than the A-Star. It also has 65mm more between the wheels. This translates to increased legroom and headroom, a rectified drawback from the A-Star. 

There is no update yet on the 2-cylinder diesel engine Maruti is developing, but we expect to know more on it at the Auto Expo. Maruti wants to reduce dependence on Fiat’s Multijet engine and this engine is touted to expand their diesel line-up in the Maruti stable including this new small car.