Dear Tigor And Tiago JTP Owners, We Will Envy You, Forever

• JT Special Vehicles was a joint venture between Tata Motors and Jayem Automotives.
• Tiago And Tigor JTPs were made by JTSV.
• Sluggish automotive market has prompted Tata to “discontinue this venture”.
• The hatch and sub-4m sedan retained all their practicality but doubled the fun factor.
• A 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine making 114PS powered both these cars.

COVID-19 has claimed another casualty. This one has broken hearts here at Team Zig. If you remember we drove the Tata Tigor and Tiago JTPs a couple of years ago and were completely besotted with their formula of superb every day usability and properly lusty performance, that too at a sticker price that you and I could look at without sweating blood and burying our dreams forever. 

Those dreams though have been buried by Tata Motors. Today we have been told that Tata Motors is acquiring the remaining 50% of JTSV (Jayem Tata Special Vehicles), a joint venture between Tata Motors and Jayem Automotives that produced these hotted up Tatas. However, now the bad news, in their words: “In light of this ongoing scenario, both Tata Motors and Jayem Automotives found it prudent to discontinue this venture.” 

If you are looking for something to blame and direct your anger at, read on: “the passenger car industry witnessed a challenging FY19-20, exacerbated with mandatory change in regulations and the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted the demand in this niche category of vehicles.” 

Also Read: 270kmph In A Tata Indica: What?

COVID 19 SUCKS! Sorry, for the outburst. We’ll grieve privately here on. 

However, JTP owners needn’t grieve. Tata is promising continued support for their beloved machines. This should prove to be no issue as the platforms are shared with the regular cars and even the engines are from bigger Tatas. Just to remind you the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine made 4PS more in the JTPs than in the Nexon from which the engine was derived! The 150Nm of torque  was capped but plenty in these little pocket rockets. The slightly lower ride height, retuned dampers and bigger wheels meant that it gobbled straight lines and nailed the corners too. I am getting misty eyed again, especially since we didn’t even get to test one thoroughly. 

If you want to refresh your memory about the JTP twins and understand why the soft spot for it, do watch one lucky Arun Shenoy’s review here. 

While the trouble for Tata and JTP began long before COVID 19 started to melt the world around us, the likelihood of Tata reviving the JTP marque anytime in the near future seems slim. So, if any JTP owners are reading this, and you see someone desperately trying to flag you down it might just be me begging for a taste of the JTP.  Times are tough, be generous.