Known for building the Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage concept and various custom vehicles, including a coupe version of the Porsche Cayenne, Indian design firm DC Design set out to develop its first production vehicle in the early 2010s. The result was christened Avanti, in a nod to Studebaker's 1960s luxury coupe,->ke505 and arrived in 2012 as a concept with supercar->ke177 intentions. It took DC another two years to showcase a production version, which made it clear that the Avanti will be more of the sports car->ke506 with just a four-cylinder engine under the hood. But things didn't go as planned, and production of the Avanti was delayed for 2015 after DC had trouble convincing Renault Sport to supply its turbocharged four-banger for the car.

With the 2015 calendar year well underway and a new test vehicle unleashed on the streets of India, the DC Avanti moves closer to production, which is reportedly set to commence as early as March 2015. Meanwhile, let's have a closer look at India's first ever sports car based on the details we already know, with a little speculation in between.

Update 2/4/2015: Our friends over at IndianCarsBikes.com managed to grab some spy shots of India's first-ever sports car, the DC Design Avanti.

Click past the jump to read more about the new DC Design Avanti.

Updated History

UPDATE 5/1/2013: Per a report from Economic Times of India, DC Design plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Sanand, Ahmedabad district in Gujarat state, India. We expect this site to be the new production site for the Avanti, which means a production model may finally be right around the corner.

Spy Shots

February 4, 2015 - DC Avanti caught on the road

Exterior

*Concept car pictured here.

It's hard to not think of the Ferrari 458 Italia or the Lamborghini Murcielago when looking at certain features on the Avanti’s exterior, but, as a whole, DC's creation is different enough to call it original. A couple of large headlamps and a trapezoidal grille occupy most of the front fascia, which continues toward the cockpit with an unusual hood design that becomes narrower toward the windscreen.

The styling becomes a lot more radical around back, with armor-like hood and fenders extending toward the rear fascia and the V-shaped taillights. Below, there's a massive grille, an integrated diffuser and a pair of triangular exhaust tips, all of which make the Avanti seem a lot more menacing than it really is. The unique rear end is further highlighted by its long-tail design and long overhang, two feats that have become less popular with car designers in the 21st century.

Exterior Dimensions

Interior

*Concept car pictured here.

The interior of the DC Avanti has gone through many modifications since the concept's arrival in 2012. And since DC has yet to reveal photos of the production-ready cockpit, we only have the prototype's cabin to relate to.

Albeit far from spectacular, the interior sports an appealing and basic design with a traditional instrument cluster and a tall center console. The Avanti's cabin isn't fancy by any stretch of the imagination, and it looks like it could use finer materials, new A/C vents, and better fit and finish. Additionally, the steering wheel reminds me of the first-gen Ford GT's, but the similarities with the Blue Oval's supercar stop there.

Overall, the cabin looks roomier when compared to similar offerings, but the low roof means there is not a lot of headroom for tall people. Rear visibility is poor through the louvered rear glass. There's no word on convenience and safety features as of January 2015, but DC promises the classic instrument panel will be replaced by a digital one. Still, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for a lot of tech in the Avanti if I were you.

*Concept car pictured here.0}

*Concept car pictured here.

For a vehicle that looks as fast as any other entry-level supercar, the Avanti is downright disappointing in this department. With only 250 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque at its disposal, the Indian sports car needs around 7.5 seconds to sprint from 0 to 60 mph, a figure that makes it slower than many hot hatch you can buy in 2015. The Renault Sport-sourced, turbocharged, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine is far from being weak, but the fact of the matter is DC used it in the wrong vehicle.

A six-speed manual transmission mates to the mill and sends the power to the rear wheels.

*Concept car pictured here.1}

Prices

*Concept car pictured here.

While DC has yet to announce pricing information for the Avanti, the word is Indian customers will be able to purchase it from around INR 40 lakhs, which converts to $64,700 at the current exchange rates (02/04/2015). Such a sticker would make the Avanti around $2,000 more expensive than the range-topping 2015 Corvette Stingray 3LT with the Z51 package and $1,000 more expensive than the 2015 Porsche Cayman S. Any takers?

*Concept car pictured here.0}

Mitsuoka Orochi

Produced from 2006 to 2014, the Mitsuoka Orochi is the car that started this "supercar looks, mild sports car performance" trend in the first place. Heavily criticized for its appearance and design, the Orochi managed to survive on the market for nine long years, despite receiving only minor improvements. While its looks are subject to personal preference, the Toyota 3MZ-FE engine motivating it was outdated since day one.

Retired from the market in 2007 (the 2006 Camry was the last U.S.-spec Toyota to use it) the 3.3-liter V-6 unit found its way into the Orochi with slight improvements and an output rated at 230 horsepower and 242 pound-feet of torque. Power traveled to the rear wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission and enables the Orochi to crawl from naught to 60 mph in eight seconds on its way to a top speed of only 110 mph. That's a half-second slower than a 2015 Sienna XLE with all-wheel drive, by the way.

Despite being slower than a minivan, the Orochi went on to cost the equivalent of $157,000 in its final Evangelion Edition iteration in Japan. That's Porsche 911 Turbo money right there!

Conclusion

*Concept car pictured here.

While I applaud DC Design's courage to venture into the sports car realm with an in-house design, I'm disappointed by the fact that the Indians chose to use the same recipe Mitsuoka patented back in 2006. The fact that the Avanti boasts a more appealing design when compared to the Orochi makes DC's efforts that much more frustrating. If India ever had a shot at delivering its first-ever supercar, DC Design just blew it. And while the Renault-powered sports car might find a following in certain Asian markets, I doubt it will ever become a hit in Europe or the United States.